Blog Archives
Many 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.
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
Summer of Secrets
GUEST BLOG – Adrienne Vaughan
Award winning Author & Poet
Adrienne Vaughan writes spellbinding, page-turning romantic suspense.
Her Heartfelt Series − The Hollow Heart, A Change of Heart and Secrets of the Heart – is set on an island off Ireland’s west coast and features a feisty investigative journalist, and her irresistible West Highland terrier. (Adrienne studied at the Dublin College of Journalism and loves animals, especially dogs.)
Her collection of short stories and poetry, Fur Coat & No Knickers was shortlisted for the Irish Carousel Prize for Anthology and her WWII short story, Dodo’s Portrait, was shortlisted for the Colm Toíbín International Short Story Award at the Wexford Literary Festival.
Summer of Secrets is the first in a series of sweeping family dramas, each with a touch of Irish magic.
All her books are heart-warming, uplifting reads, featuring her trademark gripping style, and laugh out loud moments.
Adrienne, husband Jonathan, and two cocker spaniels divide their time between rural Leicestershire, the Wicklow mountains, and coastal South Devon. Agatha Christie – the cat – (and Lorraine) take care of things while they are away.
Summer of Secrets – blurb
Mia Flanagan has never been told who her father is and, aged ten, stopped asking.
Now she keeps her own secrets.
But when the movie she’s working on ends in disaster, she flies home to discover her fiancé has a secret too; leaving her dreams crushed.
Broken-hearted, a lonely summer in London looms. Until, family friend, Archie Fitzgerald, invites her to stay at his fading mansion on Ireland’s ancient east coast.
For Archie also has a secret, and the longer Mia stays, the more she wonders if Archie really is her father after all.
Some images of Ireland so beautifully evoked by Ms Vaughan in Summer of Secrets
My review – Goodreads – This novel has it in spades: stunning Irish setting (a character in its own right), a grand but decaying family home (Galty House), glamour in the form of acclaimed actors Archie Fitzgerald and Fenella Flanagan, American hotel owner Ross and the cute, but not too cute, Pearl who melts your heart. The novel contains all of Ms Vaughan’s trademarks: glamour, secrets, intrigues, and adventure. How could it fail to please? At the centre of it is Mia, the wardrobe mistress whom I immediately bonded with and wanted to have a happy ending. However, life isn’t easy for Mia who lives in the shadow of her famous mother Fenella and, although she is surrounded by people who love her, is held back by long-buried personal secrets of the past. Is she Archie Fitzgerald’s daughter? The answer to that alone kept me turning the pages. I agree with other reviewers that Archie dominates every scene, and it isn’t until he vacates centre stage that Mia can have her moment in the spotlight and we learn the truth about who she is. There was a lot to absorb in this novel and many of the answers lay in the past and were the remit of some of the secondary characters who gave the novel a sense of community. I was particularly impressed by the authors use of flashbacks to give the reader the information they needed to understand the motivation of all the characters – and to guess the identity of Mia’s father. In the end, all is resolved and – without giving too much away, I was happy at the way the author tied up all the loose ends to bring the novel to a satisfying conclusion. I look forward to reading the sequel when it is published.
The perfect beach read this summer
Where to find Adrienne Vaughan on social media
The Collaborator’s Daughter
GUEST BLOG – EVA GLYN
CHARACTERS OF A CERTAIN AGE
I have always liked people and I have always liked wine, firmly believing that both are more interesting as they mature. So why does so much romantic fiction feature characters in the first (or, at a push, second) bloom of youth, when those in the third age are largely ignored?
After all I have friends in their sixties who have fallen in love, and why wouldn’t they? For so many retirement is an opportunity to change things around, whether they are single through circumstance or choice. A time of excitement, of new beginnings. And of downright terror about what might lie ahead.
This is where Fran Thomson, my protagonist in The Collaborator’s Daughter, finds herself. She quit her job to care for her stepfather, but now he has died, and when she looks the future in the face it’s rather too shapeless and empty. Not only that, but the past shifts under her feet as well, when she discovers the birth father she always believed died a hero, was executed as a Nazi collaborator.
Fran somehow finds the courage to travel to Dubrovnik to try to find out what happened. I am not altogether sure I would have had the guts, but then she’s a romantic heroine and I am not.
A romantic heroine who, by her own admission, is carrying a few too many pounds and hasn’t a clue how to apply clever make up. So she is more than surprised when Jadran Novak, a Croatian silver fox who was roped into helping her find out about her father by his nephew, begins to take a more than friendly interest and suggests a research trip:
Fran gazed at the clothes spread out on the bed. They were going for three nights, that was all. Why was she making such a meal of it? Her denim skirt would do for the evenings, and she knew Jadran liked her embroidered cardigan, so she’d take that as well.
Despite the difficulties of packing, there was a frisson of something about the trip that took her back to being a girl again, back to the shared house in Parsons Green. This was what they’d do before a night on the town; lay potential outfits on their beds, then run from room to room in their underwear, giggling and squealing, borrowing a skirt here, a pair of tights there …
Oh my god. Underwear. Hers was utilitarian to say the least. Sensible cotton knickers and well-constructed bras. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t as though anyone was going to see them. Were they?
Fumbling her phone she checked Jadran’s text again. He had booked them rooms, plural. Her slightly tatty and greying knickers would remain her secret. As would the folds of flesh they strained to hide. Honestly, she could have at least tried to diet while she was here, but what with a glass or two of wine every night, and baking cakes for Jadran … But it was fine. He’d booked two rooms. Clearly his intentions weren’t sexual at all.
The tiny lurch of disappointment surprised her. Yes, it was a lovely fantasy to want to be kissed and held in his arms, but the reality of going any further was frankly appalling. But that wasn’t entirely true either. A tiny part of her, a part that had been hidden for so long she had almost forgotten it existed, wanted more. Alone in her bed at night, all sorts of more. But in the cold light of day even the thought absolutely terrified her.
Eva Glyn writes relationship-driven fiction set in Croatia for One More Chapter, and she’s rather close to sixty herself. Find out more at www.evaglynauthor.com.
Want to read on? Then follow my lead and download this fabulous novel …….. review to follow in the fullness of time.
Buy link for The Collaborator’s Daughter:
https://mybook.to/CollaboratorsDaughter
HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO
When I started writing Dark, Highland Skies I thought long and hard about the hero: Hector Strachan, known as ‘Tor. I’d already created heroes with typical highlander colouring: dark hair, blue eyes and fair skin that blisters at the first touch of the summer sun. (see Ruairi Urquhart in Tall, Dark and Kilted). Some of my choices were influenced by Jamie Frazer in Outlander – who could resist the combination of auburn hair and blue-grey eyes. Then I thought, no, Tor is going to be more like his Viking ancestors who harried the west coast of Scotland and left their DNA behind: tall, blonde – the image of a young Robert Redford sprang to mind. Well, a girl can dream, can’t she!
It appears that readers and reviewers have fallen for Tor, too. Here’s what they’ve said …
It’s great to see our military heroes so well understood, with life changing injury and post traumatic stress explored sympathetically (in Tor’s case)
It is not just the story itself which I loved but also the description of all the locations and in many cases the history behind it, I would say it was all extremely well researched
I must say I rather fell for Tor – not only because he looked like my kind of guy but because of his infinite patience and gentleness, too.
The chemistry between astrophysicist Halley Dunbar and veteran Tor Strachan, a soldier suffering from PTSD and veteran Tor Strachan simply sizzles.
A former career soldier, he was invalided out of the army following horrific wounds sustained in a dreadful incident in Afghanistan
An extract from Dark Highland Skies
‘Look.’ Tor pointed skywards to where a golden eagle was circling above them, its wing tips spread open like fingers, yellow talons tucked neatly into its body. It turned its head and looked down on them, as if demanding to know what they were doing on its land. Its high chirruping cry cut through the bright, still air, drawing everyone’s gaze away from the coffin and heavenward. ‘It’s a sign that Tam is ready to leave us and that all will be well,’ Tor murmured, bending his head close so only Halley could hear.
Lizzie and Dave’s Newsletter 2023- take #1 – January- June 2022
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2023 – I wonder what the year has in store !
First of all, let me apologise for not blogging for quite some time. Life and writing novel #7 got in the way but I’m now on top of thing (famous last words). So, I would like to bring you up to date on everything (well, almost) that we did last year. So, grab a cup of coffee, kick back and enjoy. Although this is primarily MY BLOG, I wouldn’t have accomplished half of what I have without the love and support of my husband Dave. Here he is wearing the T-shirt I bought him for Christmas and (above) I’m in my favourite velvet dress from Seasalt – where else?
January 2022
Having survived Christmas and our third dose of the Covid and flu vaccines, we decided to forget all about the pandemic and get on with life. I sat down to finish and then edit the manuscript of DARK, HIGHLAND SKIES with a view to publishing later 2022. One morning I awoke to find BT digging holes in the pavement in front of our house and discovered this image by our front gate. The hero in my new novel is Hector (TOR) Strachan and I took this as I sign i should get on with finishing the book. Spooky – right?
February 2022
I hosted a writers’ workshop with Adrienne and Jocelyn which covered planning, character arcs and proofreading amongst other things. On a cold, dark February evening Adrienne and I gave our first author talk of the year to members of Hallaton WI. As usual, Dave played roadie and accountant and used my ‘sum-it-up’ machine to collect money from the ladies who attended. Adrienne and I regaled the audience with tales of the amusing and sometime bizarre things which had happened to us on our journey to publication . . . such as bumping into Dustin Hoffman on Kensington High Street.
March 2022
I was able to celebrate my birthday with friends for the first time in two years and life felt as if everything was slowly returning to normal. My niece Vicky who teaches English at Uppingham Independent School invited Adrienne and I to talk to sixth formers about the ins-and-outs of writing a novel. The jays returned to the garden and cheekily eyeballed us through the window to tell us that spring was on the way. We had our first caravan outing of the year at Chew Valley, Bath where I met up with fellow author Jo Lambert.
Dave took me to my first – and possibly last, auto jumble. I purchased a Fortnum and Mason basket and we spent more money on the entry fee, coffee, burgers and ice cream than we made selling stuff. While he was wheeling and dealing (ahem) I managed some writing in the back of the van on MacBook. So glamorous – not!
April 2022
The highlight of spring was heading south to a campsite near Milton Keynes. There we met up with Carole and Kevin, rejoined the National Trust and explored Buckinghamshire. One of the highlights was a visit to Waddesdon Manor and Ascot House – well worth a visit. The location where we camped only allowed five caravans and banned dogs, so in the morning we were treated to the site of hares grazing just outside the door to the van. Precious.
I love this selfie of the four of us at Stowe, which is Pride and Prejudice personified. Our niece Vicky has also taught at the school there !!
May / June 2022
This slideshow is a record of our time in the Isle of Wight where I arrived with a humongous cold (NOT COVID – I tested) and which hung around for most of the month. We spent most of our time with sister Phyllis and husband Andy before heading for Exeter and our niece Hannah’s wedding. I bought the white trainers for my hols, almost killed myself crossing the road in Shanklin whilst wearing them and donated them to charity shop when I returned home. Whilst we were there, our street held a Jubilee Party for HM The Queen.
The art work I bought in Bembridge which personifies the IOW for us.
So, that’s me until the next blog post which will take us through to the end of the year and contain news about my forthcoming romance – Dark Highland Skies.
In the meantime, here’s a link to my other six novels which are available for download on all Amazon sites, Kindle Unlimited subscribers and as paperbacks.
Bye for now, Lang May yer Lum Reek .
One of my favourite reviews – Harper’s Highland Fling
Reviews are so important to a writer. I’d love to thank each reader who takes the time to leave one after reading my book. However, as that isn’t possible, I check my reviews to make sure that I haven’t missed one and tick the ‘helpful’ box to let the reviewer know that its been seen and read. Sometimes, I can recognise the reviewer by their pen name, especially if they’ve reviewed one of my other books. However, this one by Souffle Girl has me stumped. Its such a fabulous review that I think it deserves a wider audience.
Sometimes, I ask my readers (via Twitter and Instagram) which of my heroes they like best. Souffle Girl certainly rose to the challenge !
“The hero of her first book, Tall Dark and Kilted, quite won my heart. Ruairi Urquhart, the Laird of Kinloch Mara, was so thoroughly delicious that I swore I would be true to him. Unfortunately, that devotion has wobbled several times upon reading Lizzie’s subsequent books. She does write such delectable heroes! I have to admit, Rocco Penhaligon might just have taken Ruairi’s crown. I’m really sorry, Ruairi! But look, Rocco’s gorgeous, and he rides a motorbike, and he’s a devoted dad and a loyal friend and . . . Well, you get the picture.
From the moment Rocco slides out from under that car in his garage, he had me intrigued, and as the story developed, I grew ever keener to understand this man more and figure out what made him tick. Together, I feel like we’ve been on quite a journey. Shove over, Harper MacDonald!
Actually, I’m not being fair to Harper. She’s a great character, too. Although she seemed very buttoned up and brusque and judgmental at first, as the story developed I could see another side to her entirely. And who can blame her for being angry? She’s supposed to be spending the summer holidays in Nepal, for goodness’ sake, not chasing after two troublesome teens on the back of a grumpy, sarcastic stranger’s motorbike!
The relationship between Harper and Rocco might be somewhat frosty, as they follow the trail of the errant teenagers, but that doesn’t stop some decidedly heated moments from occurring. It’s clear that, as inconvenient as it is, there’s a huge attraction between them, although neither will admit it – even to themselves. There’s a lot of snappy banter and caustic comments, and the sparkling conversations that Lizzie Lamb does so well.
I have to say, though, that as entertaining as the road trip part of the story is, it’s when the two of them reach Rocco’s house in Scotland that it takes on a new depth. Lizzie writes Scotland so well, and I felt as though I were right there in Plockton with her characters. Perhaps it’s the Scottish blood running through the veins of both Harper and Rocco, but when they reach the house, things change between them. It’s as if there, in that beautiful setting, they can stop the pretence and finally reveal to each other who they really are, and how they really feel.
Lizzie Lamb made me fall in love, not only with her hero, but with his stunning Highland home, too.
The story becomes something else as the relationship deepens, and we see a change in Rocco, and a softer, more vulnerable side to Harper. The heat between the two of them made my Kindle sizzle! This is a couple with real chemistry, and I loved the passion between them, and the gentleness and concern for each other after days of verbal dueling. As the defensive walls are finally taken down, true love, it seems, finds them at last. But with the teenagers due back any moment, time is running out for them. And with so many uncertainties to deal with, can there really be a future for Harper and her Highland hero?
You’ll have to read the book to find out, but I will say that the ending is just gorgeous, and left me feeling quite emotional – not least because I’d had to guiltily admit that Rocco had done the impossible and shoved Ruairi into second place. But if you read Harper’s Highland Fling for yourself, I’m quite sure you’ll understand why.
Read Harper’s Highland Fling and make up your own mind.
For one week only – February 11th 8am – February 18th 12 am
Harper’s Highland Fling will be available to download or 99p/99c.
click here to read the opening chapters of Harper’s Highland Fling and to purchase a copy
If you read and enjoy my novel please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
Book News from Melanie Robertson-King
Melanie Robertson-King is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of the third book in her It Happened series featuring the Scott and Layne families, set in picturesque locations in Canada.
Blurb:
Beaches meets Born on the 4th of July
When Melissa Scott flees to the village of Percé, she’s determined to leave her painful memories behind her.
Gareth Young, a soldier with the Canadian Forces, never got over losing his friend in the war in Afghanistan. Nowadays, he’s happier in his own company than that of others, until she enters his life.
Despite her recent breakup and knowing rebound relationships don’t work, Melissa falls head over feet for the handsome military man, only to discover he comes with enough baggage to fill an army cargo plane.
Will the couple be able to work through their issues and achieve a happy ending together?
Excerpt:
At the set of wooden stairs leading to the shoreline, Melissa picked up Buddy and descended. It was a short walk from here to the shoal, where she would cross. Once she reached the bottom, she put the dog back down, and the pair struck out.
Water lapped over the edges of the causeway and pooled in the lower sections of the sandbar. Melissa lifted her dachsie before stepping from the drier beach towards the mammoth chunk of shale and limestone. A lump formed in her throat as she stood gaping at its near-vertical cliff faces.
With Buddy tucked under her arm, she picked her way across. Unsure if it was due to the time of day, the time of year, or the bad weather forecast, there were not many people wandering around. No one strolled along Rue Mont Joli either. Strange.
Because he was well behaved and came when called, Melissa had no qualms about unclipping Buddy’s leash and putting him down. At first, he stayed by her side, sniffing the ground or raising his nose to catch a whiff of something. The scent of rotten eggs wafted through the air, no doubt brought on by rotting seaweed, occasionally overpowering the more pleasant aromas.
Melissa made herself comfortable on a boulder and pulled out her phone while Buddy amused himself. She had no new messages. Not hearing from Iain was a blessing. Maybe he realized they were finished.
She took pictures of the village from this vantage point and Buddy playing on the sand and pebbled shore. She was far too close to the rock to photograph it. She would have to wait for another time. The quay where the tour boats left from would be the best location. Melissa snapped a couple of selfies with Percé looming behind her — some smiling, some with pouty lips before returning the device to her back shorts pocket.
Loud barking and growling jolted her from her reverie as Buddy antagonized a company of gannets. Squawking seagulls soared overhead. One landed nearby and stared at Melissa with its beady yellow eyes. It took a few steps closer, ruffled its feathers and stepped back again. Living and working near the water in Saint John, she was used to seeing them. This one was different. It was more intimidating, almost like it was daring her to move so it could attack, like in the movie The Birds.
Water splashed by her feet. The tide was coming in. She wasn’t here that long, was she? Pulling her phone out, she checked the time. Yes, she had been. She had to act and fast or be cut off. “Come on, Bud, it’s time to go,” she called to her dachshund, but the animal continued harassing the waterfowl. She lunged for him, and he darted away closer to the arch — the most dangerous place of all here.
A clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. Things were quickly becoming dire. Melissa had to get her dog and return to the mainland before the thunderstorm hit. Too late. The skies blackened, and the rains pelted down. Lightning streaked across the sky, followed by yet another crash. How close was the storm? If she counted between the flash and the thunder, the longer the gap, the farther away the inclement weather was. There was more to the calculation, but at this point, it made no difference.
Strong winds pushed the incoming tide and created whitecaps. Huge waves churned and crashed over the sandbar cutting the two off from the shore …
It Happened at Percé Rock is available to pre-order for the low price of 99¢/99p. You can get your copy here https://books2read.com/u/b6OJdp
After the June 6th launch date, the price will rise, so take advantage of the pre-order special!
About the author:
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.
It Happened at Percé Rock is Melanie’s eleventh book.
You can follow Melanie at the following links:
Website | Celtic Connexions Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Pinterest
GIVEAWAY
You could win a mobi or epub version of It Happened at Percé Rock
Simply follow this link
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f805159b1/?
It simply remains for me to wish Melanie all the best with her new novel and to pre-order a copy, read and review. Go Melanie.
That was the year that was – 2019 . .
January
Christmas Lunch 2018 
Happy New Year ! 
Hogmanay – Himself and me 
Dave – Burn’s Night
February
Isabella comes to stay and we attend Carole’s book launch in MK 
We took the caravan over to Ludlow. Didn’t expect to hear bagpipes. 
My new sign which took some tracking down. 
The sign reads . . better than gold is a tale well told. How true !
March
Crazy Celts deliver talk at Great Glen Library 
Carnaby Street.
Groovy, Baby
We took in an exhibition 
Waiter photobombed my birthday meal 
Annabel’s wouldn’t let us in on my birthday – 🎊 
Our posh Lunnon Hotel – Mayfair
March -and there’s more . . .
Snowdon via railway 
Blimey, it’s a long way down, look you, Boyo 
RIP Uncle Joseph 
secret gate to Bristol campsite 
Gottle-a-geer – Portmeirion 
first day without Uggs
April- come she will (click here for a song)
Book Swag courtesy of Carole 
Himself and Me,
Hambleton Hall
Writers Workshop
Chez Lamb
The Fab Four at Hambleton for Maisie’s birthday 
Our first Banksy
(note burglar alarm as pearl earing)
May – she will stay
New caravan #5 
transverse bed and end washroom – luxury 
Mr David arranging the blinds 
where the caravanning adventure began –
honeymoon Newhaven 1973
I am invited to a Lit Fest 
I make the Stamford Mercury next to Sophie Hannah – fame indeed
June – will change her tune (we head for Scotland)
June 8th – Bonnie Scotland 
Glen Etive – the very stone where Daniel Craig stood in Skyfall 
I present owner of Castle Stalker with copy of Girl in the Castle 
MH driver getting stuck on the road to Applecross
Peaty Highland water, Applecross 
Badenoch Inn with Sarah Mallory and husband 
Train ride to mythical Glenbogle 
Desperate Dave in Dundee 
Two Minxes 
Herself and Dave, Falkland Fife 
bagpipe playing pig, Melrose
July – she will fly – research for #6 Plockton
my favorite castle Ballindalloch 
research for #6 – Plockton 
Gaelic for ‘Co-op’ on Isle of Skye 
If we ever tire of being retired 
view from Big Sand to Port Henderson 
Walter Scott’s Abbotsford 
I sold my Golf VR6 (sobs) Hope to buy a mini convertible in 2020
August – the Isle of Wight
Biddy and Betty down The George 
Mad friends meet up in Cambridge 
paperweight made by Phyllis 
Carry on Writing 
We 💝 Steephill Cove 
We find a Secret Beach Cafe 
We sell caravan #4 😪
September
The dreaded tax return, done and sent to the Revenue Men 
Narberth Book Fair and a man in a kilt 
Books what I have wrote 
RNA Afternoon Tea, York 
Writer and La Diva 
Four besties :
June, me, Adrienne, Jan
October /November
One appears in Writers’ Forum 
My article about writing in the caravan 
New author pics needed 
I host a ‘charidee’ event with Adrienne 
Big in Bangalore
Amazon offer me a Kindle deal in India.
First fire of autumn 
Herself – aka The Teenager – on her iPad.
December and beyond …
The jays return to our garden 
We become addicted to raspberry gin 
A new month and yet more promoting 
Lizzie explaining her planning methods at a writers’ workshop
Looking ahead . . . 2020
What does 2020 hold for us? More trips away in the van, certainly. Have tickets for the Braemar Highland Gathering in September to celebrate Dave’s BIG BIRTHDAY. Other than that, we’ll take life as it comes and touch base with as many friends as possible. Keep in touch and let us know what you’ve been up to. Love from Lizzie and Dave
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You can find her paperbacks here (cheaper than Amazon, just saying)
A (Yorkshire) Rose by any other name
Welcome to Yorkshire Rose Writers
It is my great pleasure to interview Yorkshire Rose Writers on my blog today. There are so many questions I wanted to ask but had to limit Sharon and Jessica to just FIVE because of space and time. But I advise anyone who wants to know about them to go over to their wonderful blog, or to follow them on Facebook.
So, who are the Yorkshire Rose Writers ?
We’re the Yorkshire Rose Writers, also known as Sharon Booth and Jessica Redland. We met through both being members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. As we both live in Yorkshire, love Yorkshire, write contemporary romance/romantic comedies set in Yorkshire, and are good friends, we decided to join forces online and become the Yorkshire Rose Writers. They say two heads are better than one so we’re looking forward to seeing where our partnership takes us. So far, Sharon has published 13 books and Jessica has published 9 with her tenth due out in spring.
Way to go Sharon and Jessica, tell us more !
We both set our novels in Yorkshire although, funnily enough, neither of us started with a Yorkshire setting…
Jessica: The idea for my debut novel, Searching for Steven, came from a real-life event. At the time, I was living in Reading, Berkshire, but I moved back to the north the following year to be nearer my family and that’s when I started writing. The book was initially set in London with the protagonist moving to the north but ‘the north’ was a very non-specific setting and, the more I wrote, the more I realised my lack of setting was really letting me down. A couple of months later, I met my husband and he was from Scarborough on the North Yorkshire Coast where I now live. I found the love of my life but I also found my setting as all my books are set in a fictional version of Scarborough (with a bit of Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay thrown in there) called Whitsborough Bay. I wanted to keep the setting fictional to give me the flexibility to change things and create parts of the town that don’t exist. Anyone who knows Scarborough will recognise certain parts, though, which are very much inspired by the real setting.
Sharon: I’ve set books in various parts of Yorkshire, including the Dales and Moors. My first series of books, however, are set in the fictional Kearton Bay, which is based on Robin Hood’s Bay. When I first had the idea for what became There Must Be an Angel, we were on our way down to Somerset for a holiday, and while we were there, we visited Glastonbury. I started plotting during that week, so when I returned home, I initially set the story in Glastonbury. It wasn’t long, however, before I realised that the characters who were talking to me had Yorkshire accents …
Please share your top five writing tips
- Keep everything! No work is wasted work
- Write what you love. If you’re not passionate about your characters/setting/plot, readers probably won’t be too
- Always have a notepad (or even the notes function on your phone) handy for when inspiration strikes
- Keep a spreadsheet or similar of all the key details of your characters and settings, particularly if, like us, you write a series. This makes sure you don’t name two streets the same, move businesses, or keep calling all your secondary characters Dave
- Don’t forget your character arc. By the end of your book, your protagonist needs to have changed in some way/learned something. At the start, decide on your arc and how you’re going to achieve it.
Tell us how the writing process works for you –
plotter or pantser
Sharon: I’m very much a plotter, although in ‘real’ life I’m quite disorganised and everything is ‘last minute’ with me. I use a fantastic book called Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody to make a plan before I start writing. Having said that, I do veer off course quite often, but I’m like that clever Sat Nav lady – I just correct the route and carry on.
Jessica: I’m the pantser which surprises me because, in ‘real’ life I’m actually very organised and a big planner. When I wrote Searching for Steven, I just wrote. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing and I learned my craft along the way. Because it took me a decade to write on and off (including some significant breaks where I didn’t write at all), I think I developed a habit. I tried to plot the sequel, Getting Over Gary, but my characters didn’t like it. They kept doing their own thing – which was not what I’d plotted – so I now just write. I do spend some time developing my characters first, though, including their arc. I know what the plot will be about and how it needs to end but how that unfolds is very much driven by my characters as I go.
Social Media – help or hindrance
Great question! If we’re honest, probably a bit of both. Writing can be a lonely business so social media is great for engaging with other writers, making friends, and building a ‘community’. But, let’s be honest, if you’re having a tough time it can really knock your confidence to see a Facebook newsfeed full of writers celebrating amazing news – even though you really like them and are genuinely pleased for them. Sometimes we forget that most people only post about the good bits of their lives! Social media can be great for promoting your work, of course, but that also has a downside, because we know that nothing is more likely to alienate potential readers than constant ‘buy my book’ posts.
It’s hard to strike a balance between promotion and remembering the ‘social’ bit of social media. It’s a huge time suck if you let it be. No one can procrastinate quite like a writer, and it’s funny how appealing a video of a cat watching television can be if you’ve reached a tricky part of your WIP. (And yes, we have watched that video!) It’s part of the reason we joined together. We figured that, if one of us is having a busy week/month, the other one might not be under quite so much pressure, so we can ‘share the burden’. It’s also often easier to promote each other than it is to promote ourselves!
Blurb and link(s) to your current book
Jessica: My current book is a Christmas one, but a Christmas book isn’t just for Christmas is it? And it starts on Christmas Day one year but then is mainly November/early December the following one so not entirely Christmas. Have I convinced you?
Christmas at The Chocolate Pot Café –
A few minutes of courage might change your life…
Emotionally, Tara Porter finds the festive period a challenge. Christmas Day is a reminder of the family she lost, and New Year’s Eve holds bitter memories of the biggest mistake of her life: marrying Garth Tewkesbury. Shunning invitations to celebrate, she seeks refuge in her flat with only her giant house bunny, Hercules, for company.
Professionally, though, it’s the best time of year. Tara’s thriving café, The Chocolate Pot, is always packed. With the café hosting a wedding and engagement party, it’s shaping up to be the café’s best Christmas ever.
When former nemesis, Jed Ferguson, threatens the future of The Chocolate Pot, Tara prepares for a fight. The café is everything to her and she’s not going to let anyone or anything jeopardise that.
Tara badly misjudged ex-husband Garth and, since then, has refused to let anyone in. After all, if you don’t let them in, they can’t hurt you. But has she misjudged Jed too? Is it possible that he’s not the arrogant, deceitful man from whom she bought the café 14 years earlier? Can she find the courage to find out for sure?
Found here: http://hyperurl.co/y5jsfs
Sharon: My latest book is the first in my new The Witches of Castle Clair series, set in a fictional version of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. It’s suitable to be read at any time of year.
Belle, Book and Christmas Candle
Do you believe in magic?
Sky St Clair doesn’t, and growing up in Castle Clair, a small town renowned for its mystical past and magical legends, she never felt she belonged.
Sky got away from Castle Clair as soon as she could, but when a run of bad luck leaves her homeless and jobless, she has little choice but to accept her sister Star’s invitation to return home for the festive season.
When Star has an accident, Sky finds herself running the family’s magical supplies shop. Wands, crystals, pendulums … really? It’s a tough job when she doesn’t believe in the products she’s selling, but how can she? Magic isn’t real, no matter what her deluded siblings think.
Jethro Richmond doesn’t believe in magic either. In fact, he doesn’t believe in anything much anymore, which is proving to be a bit of a problem for a writer of fantasy novels. With a self-constructed wall around his heart as high as Clair Tower, and his dreams as ruined as the town’s ancient castle, he’s lost all hope of repairing his tattered career. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a family like the St Clairs, and no matter what a certain little black cat seems to want Jethro has no intention of spending any time with Sky or her unusual sisters.
But this is a strange little town and, as the residents prepare to celebrate Christmas, Sky and Jethro might just discover that in Castle Clair, anything is possible. Even magic
Find it here: smarturl.it/christmascandle
Finally – what are you working on ATM?
Sharon: I’m writing the second in The Witches of Castle Clair series, plotting the fourth and final Kearton Bay novel, and starting to jot down ideas for the fifth Bramblewick book.
Jessica: I’m trying to find a home with a publisher for my tenth novel. I’m being very selective about where to send it, though. I’ve had some superb feedback, no offers … yet. I’m waiting to hear back on a couple of others, but will indie publish it in spring if they’re a no. I’m also part-way through another two books. I hope one will be ready for summer and another for autumn. In theory. Reality is that I’m in the final year of a Masters in Creative Writing through Open University, and I have another five assignments to go on that which will have to take priority. My final big assignment will be 15k words of a new novel and I’m excited about that because I’ve decided to do something a bit different as a challenge. If it works, that may be a 2020 publication.
Thanks so much for inviting us onto your blog, Lizzie. We really appreciate it. It’s been great fun having you here, I hope we might meet up soon.
Yorkshire Rose Writers
Blog: http://yorkshirerosewriters.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yorkshirerosewriters/
Twitter: @YorkRoseWriters
Instagram: yorkrosewriters
Sharon Booth:
Website/blog: https://sharonboothwriter.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonbooth.writer/
Twitter: @Sharon_Booth1
Instagram: sharonboothwriter
Jessica Redland:
Website: http://www.jessicaredland.com
Blog: https://jessicaredlandwriter.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaRedlandWriter/
Twitter: @JessicaRedland
Instagram: jessicaredlandwriter
Lizzie Lamb - author 