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Book and a Brew with Ritu – Just Friends For Now by @Lucy_K_Author @ChocLituk #NewRelease #BookReview #BookAndABrew

23 May 2023 2 Comments

by Ritu in Book & A Brew With Ritu, Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, Book Review, Just Friends for Now, Lucy Keeling

Yes, we are back with another Book & A Brew with Ritu post!.

Today, I am thrilled to welcome fabulous Rom-Com author, and friend of mine, Lucy Keeling to my blog for a cuppa and a bit of a chat about all things writerly, especially her newest release, Just Friends for Now. It’s out TODAY!

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Lucy! Let’s get you set with a drink first. Now would you prefer a coffee of some sort? I have a Tassimo machine. I can stretch to that! Or maybe a cup of tea, a chai latte, or would you like to be brave and have a traditional homemade Indian masala tea? (Maybe we should do a Mimosa brunch like the one served in Lulu’s!)

Well, I would love to try an Indian masala tea, especially after reading your books, it sounds delicious. Although maybe after our catch up, we should go and do a bottomless brunch somewhere and just have all the giggles.

Oh, my goodness, that would be such fun! We have to, most definitely, one day! But for now, if we’re going masala tea, I can bust out the samosas and pakoras (fried potato and vegetable fritters), but I have biscuits, specifically shortbread, too!

I adore samosas and pakoras so absolutely count me in! But and this will come as absolutely no surprise I also love biscuits so I’ll have whatever you’re having, don’t go to any trouble just for me.

Right, well I’ll just lay a whole spread out, then!

Now that first, inevitable question… Why writing? Was it always a dream? How did you end up getting published?

I’ve always written, or at least attempted to. In fact, I’m now wondering if I wrote because I have always been obsessed with stationery (and therefore would ask for stationery every birthday) or if I’m obsessed with stationery because I’ve always been a writer. (Fellow stationery addict, here. I 100% understand your obsession!)

As for how I ended up being published, well…

My publisher was running a competition. I entered, and although I only came in second place, I was offered a three-book contract as a result. Woohoo! It makes it sound like it’s so easy, so what I will add, if that’s ok, is that for many years I honestly didn’t know you could plan a novel. I really thought that an author would sit at a desk, be inspired, and the words would just flow. So every single attempt at writing, I’d run out of steam around Chapter 5. When I discovered that you could plan it out, it completely changed everything. There are so many misconceptions out there about writing a novel, I know! I think I was the same at first, but now, in book three, I have realised I can’t be a Pantser all the time. I am now a Plan-tser!

I love your Just Friends Series! Can you tell me where your passion for writing Rom-Coms stems from?

Firstly thank you so much. I still can’t get over the fact that people actually read my stories.

But why romcoms? Well, I adore reading them. It’s that simple. I’ve loved reading them and watching them. In fact, I remember being like 10, maybe, and my favourite movie was Overboard – Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn. In fact, it probably is still one of my faves, to be honest. Do you like watching Romcoms, and if yes, do you have a fave?

I do indeed love them! I love both Western ones and Bollywood ones, too! But my all-time fave has to be Pretty Woman! I could watch it over and over!

Do you have a favourite from the books you have written so far?

Ohhhh, I don’t know if I can pick a favourite. Can you pick one of yours? What I will say is that there’s something in each book that I’ve really loved exploring. In the first one, I wanted to look at how the female love interest can be the one that makes the big gesture. The second one was exploring how relationships, friends or romantic, can help people grow. Mya’s story in the third was looking at strong women and how they don’t have to change when they fall in love. Book 4 this one is looking at barriers that we might put in our way. A friend of mine once told me to get out of my own way, and I’ve sort of explored that. However, as well as themes, I also go trope heavy. So we have book 1 – best friend’s brother. Book 2- fake dating. Book 3 – Enemies to lovers, competitors even! Book 4 – bang to get it out of their systems, with a grumpy sunshine combo. And I have LOVED every single trope! Do you have a favourite trope or one that you’d love to write about?

Oh, I know, Lucy, it is a hard question and perhaps very cheeky of me to ask! I think Marriage Unarranged will always have a special place in my heart because it took me so long to write and launched my dream. I feel book 3 will be very dear to me because the subject matter is close to my heart… I am not big on writing to trope, as such, but I do love Enemies to Lovers and Second Chance Romances.

Where do you like to write? Do you have a special room at home, or are you one who is spread across the dining room table, like I was when I wrote my first book?

I have a little desk in my bedroom, but like you, my first two books were written on the kitchen table. It was only when I was sent home, in the pandemic that I added a desk to the bedroom, and there you have it. I’m a lot closer to the post-its but further away from the tea and biscuits. So….

Certain distractions we have to try and fight… But I make it worse by having a stash of snacks in my writing room! (And I wonder why my clothes are getting ever tighter…)

We have known each other for a while now. I think I ‘met’ you on Twitter first during Lockdown, then it extended to Facebook and, The Gram, and TikTok, too. How do you cope with the pressures of keeping on top of all the different social media channels you are active on? (I’m constantly juggling life with keeping up to date on my blog, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, with a few visits to TikTok, and trying to use the time wisely to write, too!)

Firstly, you are a joy to know virtually, and one day, I hope to meet in real life!

Aw, Lucy! You are such a sweetheart! And,yes! We need to do that bottomless brunch! I would love to meet you properly!

But, oh, my days there, is so much to do, Ritu! I know you’re the same as me, working as well as writing, and then the social media stuff as well, it’s a lot. I wish I knew the secret, I really do, but I don’t. But I can tell you that because of the lack of time, when I do post, I’m usually really honest. Too honest. Much too honest. I’m a complete oversharer. I know that some people can curate an online image, but no, sorry, what you see is very much what you get. And it’s almost always too much, lol. Should anyone want an unfiltered Lucy Keeling in their lives, their best heading to my Instagram, lol.

I LOVE the unfiltered Lucy Keeling!!!

Coming back to the Just Friends series, how did it feel to finally be writing about the fab four again?

Well, as my contract was for three books and you’ll know from book 1 my intention was to make sure each of the main female leads were going to have their HEA. But pandemic times and all that meant that there was a slight delay in book 4 coming out (sorry again to those that were waiting). While I’m so excited for everyone to read about Paige, I am really sad that the series is over, but I’m hoping I’ve given them all a lovely HEA send-off. (You have done the series proud!)

And this is your first stab at writing FF romance, with a few sizzling scenes, too! Dare I ask, what kind of research was needed for that? Did you launch into reading more sapphic books, or talk to women, to get a realistic feel?

Hahaha. Lots of reading, lots of research, and lots of chats with people that didn’t mind me being a little bit nosey. For me, it’s really important that as an author, I reflect the world around me. The world around me includes the LGBTQ+ community. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous.

I know that feeling, what with my MM romance in Book 2! It is nerve-wracking, but, I hope, what with my great sensitivity readers, and my other advance readers (Thank you, Lucy!), that I have done the relationship, and story justice!

Paige has a psychic ability in this series. Do you know anyone who has this gift? If you did, how would you use it? (Aside from knowing exactly where your next release would sit in the best seller’s chart – which it will!)

I don’t or I don’t think I do. I spent too long thinking about this and realised I was massively overthinking it and actually, if I had like any sort of psychic ability, I’d use it to get a lottery win. Sorry, I know that’s boring, lol. What about you?

I think the Lottery win would be up at the top, somewhere, too, as well as seeing what life has in store for my kids, so I can help guide them…

I was lucky enough to read an arc of Just Friends For Now and truly enjoyed it (Review follows after the Q&A). I feel sad that it is the end of the series. I loved getting to know Paige, Sophie, Polly and Mya. I’d love to see a spin-off about the adventures of Connie! But, if that isn’t available, can you share anything with our readers about what is in the pipeline for you and any future releases?

Did it work for you as an end-of-series book? It did! I was really trying to finish it in a way that it was rounded off for all of them.

How brilliant is Connie! One of my all-time favourite characters to write. She is fabulous!

I’m currently trying to figure out what to write next. I have two ideas, and I just don’t know which one to focus on. Does this ever happen to you? How do you know what to work on?

I have a little notebook with ideas I have jotted down, and right now, the focus is on the release of book two, Straight As A Jalebi, and writing the first draft of Book three. After that, I am not sure what I will concentrate on. I have a couple of ideas for novels or novellas spinning off from the Ristay Series, but I also have a fairytale retelling which I started, using the Indian part of me as inspiration for the story… That is something I would love to finish.

Oh! Looks like the cups are empty, and the plates, too!

Lucy, it has been a pleasure having you over for a Book & A Brew chinwag!

And I also want to add a huge thank you for your support over this whole series, I’m so grateful Ritu, thank you so much x

It has always been, and always will be, a pleasure, my dear friend. 😊

Peeps, honestly, you need to go and start the Just Friends series if you haven’t already. It is such fun!

Now, as I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Just Friends for Now, so let me share the blurb and my review.

The Blurb

Just friends for now … but how about later?

Bar owner Paige can’t deny that there’s just something about Melanie and her prim and proper librarian look that messes with her mojo. But Melanie is no librarian; she owns Lulu, the new super Instagrammable brunch spot in town, boasting bottomless mimosas and prime selfie opportunities. If anything, Melanie and Paige should be rivals, probably not friends – and definitely not anything else.

But when they both team up to work on a community project, and then Melanie finds Lulu the subject of a malicious online review campaign, they might find that staying just friends is going to be a little trickier than either of them could have imagined …

Book 4 in the Friends series, but it can be read as a standalone novel. This is Paige and Melanie’s story.

My Review

Just Friends for Now by Lucy Keeling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was thrilled when I heard there was a fourth in the Just Friends series by fabulous author Lucy Keeling, and I sped through it!
Each book in the series centres on a different friend in a tight circle of four, and Just Friends for Now is about Paige (or Book as her gran, Connie, calls her – I LOVE that!) and her love life.
Paige owns Barbarella’s, a bar, and has a kind of psychic gift that has been playing up recently. She is feeling broken. She hasn’t been in a relationship for a while, but the entrance of a new business owner, setting up another establishment nearby gets her hackles up.
Or at least she thinks that’s what is happening.
Then we have Melanie, the competition. She’s stressed. Her business, Lulu’s, seems to be going well, but she is on the go constantly, what with helping her sister raise her son, as well. Then there is the friction she feels emanating from that other local bar owner, Paige…
I won’t tell you what happens. Otherwise, why would you go and grab your own copy? Needless to say, I loved this FF romance, with plenty of sizzle and drama and a fantastic conclusion!
It was great to catch up with the rest of the gang, Sophie, Mya and Polly, and seeing how the friends all get together to help the latest one of them in a pickle.
Several other characters we get to know, including Connie, Paige’s Gran, and Cleo, Melanie’s bar manager, are just fantastic. Real feisty women!
I have to admit to being rather sad about the fact that it is the end of a much-loved series, but the epilogue made me all warm and fuzzy, and I guess we can only hope that maybe, just maybe, Lucy Keeling might want to resurrect some of these characters in the future…

Buy a copy of Just Friends For Now, HERE!

Author Bio

Lucy Keeling is an author writing fun, sexy, stories with all of the happily ever afters.

When she’s not typing at the kitchen table, she’s arranging and then re-arranging to see her friends for the occasional spot of day drinking.

Lucy is currently writing the third book in a Contemporary Romance series, the first of which was Runner-Up in ChocLit’s ‘Search for a Star’ competition. This story has become her romantic comedy debut ‘Make It Up To You’. The second book in the series ‘Just Friends’ has been described as ‘unputdownable’ and ‘A fabulous will they won’t they love story with moments of hilarity sprinkled throughout’ and is available now.

Follow Lucy on her Social Media Channels – She’s lots of fun, especially on TikTok and Instagram!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lucy_K_Author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucykeelingbooks

Amazon: Author Page

Instagram: @lucy_k_author

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lucy_keeling

Book & A Brew with Ritu and @LeonieMAuthor A Taste of Italian Sunshine #BlogTour #BookReview @rararesources @BoldwoodBooks #BookAndABrew

19 May 2023 4 Comments

by Ritu in Book & A Brew With Ritu, Reviews Tags: A Taste of Italian Sunshine, Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Leonie J Mack

I am so pleased to be on the tour for my friend Leonie Mack’s latest release, A Taste of Italian Sunshine!

And she even joined me for a Book & A Brew, too!

Today, I have a lovely visitor to my Book & A Brew with Ritu segment, and that is Leonie Mack, talking about all things writing and her newest release, A Taste of Italian Sunshine.

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Leonie! Let’s get you set with a drink, first. What would you like?

I can offer you a typical English tea, or, if you fancy a little something different, I can always brew up some masala tea… or a coffee if you please?

Or do we skip the hot drinks and sip some prosecco? I feel that might be more appropriate, given your latest release! I have my usual samosas and pakoras, which might be an interesting combo with the prosecco, or there are always biscuits if you prefer a hot beverage.

If we were in Italy we’d probably be dipping our biscuits in coffee! But prosecco actually pairs very well with well-spiced food, so perhaps we should stick with a little tipple to accompany those samosas and pakoras (how much do I love pakoras by the way!)

I’m loving that idea! (pops a cork…)

Now, I think you and I connected first through Anita Faulkner’s FaceBook group, Chicklit & Prosecco. It’s a wonderful place to chat, isn’t it, and to get support from other authors and romance fans?

Yes, that group is also part of the reason I decided to write a book about the prosecco region of Italy! Writing is sometimes an isolating activity. You spend so much time in your own head, but it’s important to share the journey however we can. Finding people who write similar stories is so important, even if we often don’t live in the same places.

You are so right there. We need our little writerly community, especially for romance, nowadays.

I am amazed, six books in the space of the last three years. It took me eighteen years to write my first book! How have you managed to write so much over the last few years?

I was quite lucky with the timing of my first book contract. We’d not long moved countries, and I’d just settled my daughter into Kindergarten, so I could take some time out from working in the usual sense to kick-start my writing career. I’ve also been very lucky that my publisher Boldwood Books, has done amazing things in the industry and has been very supportive (I’m on my third contract). But I get quite obsessive about my research and writing, and once I’ve got a plot and some characters settled, they tend to pour out and I’ll sit at my laptop day and night until it’s finished (sorry, family!)

You’re lucky to have a supportive family. I do, too, though they don’t always get the other part of the writing and publishing process: the promotion and networking online… It is hard to explain that I am not just browsing Instagram and TikTok, but that I am actually having valuable interactions with like-minded folk and prospective readers of my own book!

So, do you have a favourite out of your book babies?

I love all of my characters for different reasons, but my favourites so far have been this book, Italian Sunshine, and We’ll Always Have Venice. These two were just super fun to write, and the characters kind of wrote themselves. Some characters take longer to become clear to me, and those books are always a bit harder to write.

I agree that if you connect personally with the characters and story, it flows so easily.

I always ask this question. Do you have a special place where you write? An office, writing room/nook, or are you someone who takes their laptop or notebook and pen everywhere, writing wherever you go?

I have written a lot of words on trains over the past few years! I find that, somehow, the best to get the words flowing. I wrote my first few books at a desk either in my bedroom or in the living room (with kids home during lockdowns, that wasn’t always easy). We moved last year, and our new house has a little room that’s supposed to be sort of storage off the kitchen or space for a sewing machine or something (old-fashioned housewife’s room!), but it’s become my office! It’s just big enough for bookshelves, my desk and the dog’s bed.

I love that! A little secret… my writing room wasn’t meant to be mine, either! It was earmarked as my Hubby’s home office, since he works from home more often, and a smaller box room would have been my cubby hole. When we moved in, the internet connection wouldn’t reach upstairs where this room is, and so he had to camp out in the downstairs room, and I nabbed it! It worked out quite well, thought because if he is in there for long periods of time, he has a nice view of the garden, whereas even though I ‘d like to be in here more often, I don’t have a much time, so the lack of windows isn’t a problem for me! It is an attic conversion so there are a couple of velux windows…

I’ve read some of your books (others are on my Kindle waiting to be read!), and there is a heavy focus on other countries, Italy especially. Is there any reason for the Italian fancy?

I love travel in general, so I always included interesting places in my writing, even before anything of mine was published. My first book takes readers to Miami, Mexico and the Caribbean coast of Colombia! After I wrote my second book, Italy Ever After, where my publisher suggested I might want to try writing about somewhere more well-known, the books kind of spawned each other! I had already done a lot of research about northern Italy, so Venice was a logical next choice (so much inspiration there!). The Venice books actually sparked the idea for A Taste of Italian Sunshine. Northern Italy isn’t too far from where I live, in central Germany, and we’ve been down there quite a few times now, so that’s another reason for the northern Italian settings.

Let’s bring it back to your latest Italian offering, A Taste of Italian Sunshine. Did you set this somewhere you visited? I found the descriptions extremely evocative.

This is the only book where I managed a dedicated research trip while I was still drafting. But I live in a wine region, too, so I watch the progress of the vines every day on my dog walks, which helped give this book some context, too. But it’s a fascinating region and is now recognised as UNESCO World Heritage because of the uniqueness of the hills and the way the vines are cultivated there. But yes, I dragged my kids down there with me last year in the school holidays, and we had a fun week hiking in the hills and paddling in the Piave River.

And has the research for the book made you more of a wine expert? Your main character, Jenn, is an expert in all things wine, and I can only imagine that you had to do a bit of tasting yourself to really get into the character.

Yes, there was tasting involved!! I get a little obsessive about everything that goes into my books, so I had a lot of fun reading up on prosecco, the flavour notes and the different ways the bubbles are produced. Reading descriptions of wines is also fascinating – a challenge like writing fiction, in some ways, to help people to imagine a taste. It was a lot of fun.

I can imagine that was fun!

I always ask this, too. What next? Is there a project you are working on now that you could drop some hints about?

I seem to be on a schedule of winter and summer books, so you can guess it’s a winter book coming up next! I’m just emerging from my writing cave on that one and will be going through edits soon. There’s a hint of a family mystery, which was something new for me, but of course, as usual, a heart-stopping romance as well, in a unique and superlative landscape…

That sounds intriguing! Peeps, you heard it here first! Something very interesting coming from Leoni, next!

Thank you so much for visiting me here on my blog, Leoni! We’ll have to do it again, soon!

Thank you for having me. 😊

The Blurb

Jenn has always prided herself on being a city girl – she insists on easy access to good coffee, great food from around the globe, not to mention an easy commute. So, when her job takes her to one of the most famous Italian wine regions in search of the perfect Prosecco, travelling to meetings on a tractor is a bit of a culture shock. Tiziano hates the city. He was made for the mountains and vineyards of Veneto, and generations of his family have earnt their living from the land. But times are changing even in the Italian countryside, and the arrival of Jenn at his grandmother’s B&B opens up a window on a different world. Jenn has two months to persuade the Prosecco producers to trust her with their business, and Tiziano has one summer to persuade Jenn that there’s more to life than the rat race. But can a city girl and a country boy ever find enough in common to see a future beyond one long summer of sun… Let Leonie Mack magic you away to the vineyards of Veneto for one hot summer in Italy. Perfect for fans of Mandy Baggot, Jo Thomas and Sarah Morgan. ‘This book was very heartwarming, with a great set of characters, all taking place in a wonderful setting – what more could you want from a book…’ ‘This is one of those books where you want to get to the end, but you also don’t want it to end because you know you’re going to miss it when it’s done. A great read.’ ‘Ah, the romance – I really loved every moment, as the two main characters I’d really taken to my heart fought that magnetic pull between them when you really, really wanted them to have their happy ending. This was one of those perfect summer reads, but with a depth and emotion that was particularly satisfying – most definitely one I’d recommend to others.’ ‘A burst of pure joy… It has all the feel-good elements needed for an irresistible romance you can’t help but root for, even though you know the odds aren’t in their favour! ‘Beautifully written, this is a great take on the opposites attract theme.’

Buy it here: https://books2read.com/u/mdja0l

My Review

A Taste of Italian Sunshine by Leonie Mack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jenn is a woman on a mission. Having landed in Italy, she must prove to her boss (and crush) that she has a wealth of knowledge and ‘the nose’ to root out the perfect prosecco for the hotel chain she is working for.
There are several issues, though, including where she has to stay and that her ‘nose’ isn’t all that friendly with bubbles.
Oh, and there is a moody farmer, Tiziano, who keeps popping up wherever she is. A farmer with his own deep-rooted secrets and nightmares.
I loved our Korean heroine, fighting to balance her mother’s expectations for her life and career, as well as navigating certain cultural expectations that kept on popping into her mind at inopportune moments, with her true desires for her life and future, that became clearer as she spent the summer in Veneto, among the farming community and in the bosom of Tiziano’s family.
Lovely arcs for both main characters and fun to read!
I enjoyed this and read it pretty much in one sitting!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

About the Author

Leonie Mack is an author of romantic comedies with great international locations and big feelings. She loves a happy ending and shares that love in every book she writes! She is a journalism graduate, a language nut and loves to travel, particularly on foot, by bike and by train. After growing up in Australia and living most of her adult life in London, she now lives in Germany, among the vineyards on the Main river.

Follow Leoni on Social Media!

Instagram: @leoniejmack

Facebook: facebook.com/leoniejmack

TikTok: @leoniejmack

Twitter: @LeonieMAuthor

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/LeonieMackNews

Bookbub profile: Leonie Mack Books-BookBub

Book and a Brew with Ritu – by Val Penny @valeriepenny @spellbound #NewRelease

16 May 2023 10 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, New Release, The First Cut, Val Penny

Looks like this is a Tuesday thing now!!

Today, I am hosting prolific Crime writer and fellow Spellbound author, Val Penny, about her latest release, The First Cut!

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Val! Now, the first thing we do is get the drinks sorted.

Thank you so much for inviting me along, Ritu. It is always lovely to chat with you.

What is your beverage of choice? I know you have a Friday evening drink open on your Facebook page, but since it’s a little early, I was leaning more towards the hot kind!Coffee, tea, hot chocolate? I have green teas, too, or maybe you’d like to sample a masala chai from me?

I agree. I’d love a cup of Earl Grey tea, no milk, I’m a cheap date!

No problem at all!

And of course there will be nibbles. I have shortbread (a nod to your Scottish connection!) or we could do some samosas?

Why not start with the samosas and have shortbread afterwards, if it’s not too much trouble.

Sounds like a plan Val!

I always love to find out more about where a fellow author’s journey started. When did you realise you wanted to write, and how was your journey to becoming a published author?

I have been writing and telling stories all my life. When I was a child, I used to make up stories for my little sister after our Mum put the light out and told us to go to sleep. Later, I wrote documents, contracts, and courses as part of my job, but my time was well accounted for, so I did not create any fiction.

However, I took early retirement when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and there were times when I suffered severe side effects from my treatment. I could not go out, spend time with friends or indulge in many of my favourite hobbies, but watching daytime television got very old very fast, so I turned to reading. It was the only thing I had the energy to do and could do safely.

After a while, I began to feel a little better and I complained to my long-suffering husband about getting bored. It was then he challenged me: ‘If you know so much about what makes a good book, why don’t you write one?’ I did laugh. However, the challenge set, I have been writing police procedural crime thrillers set in Scotland ever since.

At present, you are a new to me author, (I have yet to delve into your books, but they are on my TBR pile!) but you have several other books out there. Could you tell us a little about your interest in crime thrillers?

I read voraciously; I always have. (Me, too!) I particularly enjoy reading crime fiction and thrillers. I indulged this interest with many novels, including those by Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, Linwood Barclay and Joan Livingston. I decided to write the kind of book that I like to read, and so I write crime thrillers.

And do you have a favourite out of all your published books so far?

I dedicated my first novel, Hunter’s Chase to my mother. It always amused me when she read the second novel, Hunter’s Revenge and said, ‘Your first book was fine dear, but this one is so much better!’ However, for me, my favourite book is always the one I am working on at present. I am writing short stories for a collection to be published towards the end of this year. It is a lot of fun.

Fantastic! I have a set of uncompleted stories that, one day I would love to be made into picture books!

I always ask this one, but could you tell me where you like to write? Do you have a writing room/desk, or are you a writer who likes to take their laptop/notepad out and about?

I have a little writing desk in one of our extra bedrooms. I call it my writing nook. It’s not fancy, but I can really get into my flow there (but if we have visitors, it can revert to a guest bedroom). Do you have a special writing room, Ritu?

Oh, my readers here know this already, but yes, I do have my own writing room ever since we moved into our new home two years ago. In fact, it should have been my Hubby’s home office, and I had a smaller box room pencilled in as my room, but due to technical difficulties, he ended up down there, and I now have this gorgeous L-shaped room, with its own en-suite, too! I have. a little reading nook with an armchair, as well as my desk, and all my bookshelves, as well as a little open space where I can dance around like a loony if I wish!

Have you ever written a book you feel will never see the light of day? I know I have a few half-written ideas, but nothing I finished completely, then set to one side!

No. I have a few pieces of flash fiction, short stories and poems still looking for homes, but I’m quite disciplined with my novels, I write them until they are finished (and then edit the hell out of them!). Do you ever look through your partly finished novels and use them, or part of them?

The pieces I have sketched out or started writing are very different to the current stories I am writing, so I can’t use them as such, but I do continue to jot ideas down for them, too, as one day, they will get completed!

Now, I invited you over to have a little chat about your newest release, The First Cut. The first in a new Scottish crime series. Tell me a bit about your inspiration behind this particular series.

Jane Renwick appears in my original series of crime novels, The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries but the main character is Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson. However, I really liked Jane, so when I decided to write a new series, there was no competition about who my new main character should be. I had created an interesting back story for Jane Renwick. She grew up in care and struggled against the odds to achieve her ambition of joining the police force, but she did manage to do this and is now a respected police detective in the Major Incident Team (MIT).

However, Jane has not been able to marry. She lives with her civil partner, Rachael Anderson, who is also a detective on the force. The First Cut is set in 2014 and marriage for the LGBTQ community did not become legal in Scotland until 2016. Maybe Jane and Rachael will marry in the future.

It’s great to have a female protagonist, in DS Jane Renwick, and one championing the LGBTQ community, at that!. Have you ever wanted to be involved in investigations like the ones you write about?

Gosh no! I’d run a mile rather than be involved in the day-to-day trials of police work. I don’t think I’m brave enough nor organised enough. I leave all that to Hunter, Jane and their teams.

However, something quite exciting has happened for Jane. I have been contacted by a TV scout who is putting together a list of authors whose books would be suitable for a new crime drama. The difference is that instead of making an executive decision they are having a public vote! Each person who registers with them will have 5 free votes. Voting starts 15 May and I’d really appreciate your and your readers votes. https://booksoffice.com/voting-guidelines-for-readers.

Now that is exciting! Please Peeps, head on over in a couple days and give Val’s idea a vote!

And, as a sneak preview to my readers, what is coming next from you? Will it be the second in this thriller series?

Just now I am writing the second book in my Jane Renwick Thriller series, A Fighting Chance. It will be published next year, and I hope the readers will enjoy it.

Oh, I am sure all your readers will be chomping at the bit for the next Jane Renwick book!

Thank you so much for visiting, Val. I’ve enjoyed learning a bit more about you!

Thank you for having me, Ritu.

My pleasure 😊 Wishing this, and all your future releases much success, Val!

So, you have a fantastic book to read, my Peeps, and a second one following it, soon, too!

Now here is the blurb to whet your appetites! It sounds pretty good!

The Blurb

It’s hard to escape a brutal past.

A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.

DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team finds out that the killer is her relative.

Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives be involved? Where will the killer strike next?

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.

Hunter’s Chase – https://geni.us/ic7r

Hunter’s Revenge – https://geni.us/a13c

Hunter’s Force – https://geni.us/f5eJb

The First Cut – https://linktr.ee/spellboundbks

Author Biography

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

www.valpenny.com

https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny

www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

www.facebook.com/groups/296295777444303

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17300087.Val_Penny

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/val-penny

Twitter: @valeriepenny

Book and a Brew with Ritu – I Love you Always Forever by @CharlieADean #NewRelease #BookReview #Book&ABrew

09 May 2023 12 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, Book Review, Charlie Dean, Charliea Dean, Florence Keeling, I Love You Always Forever, New Release

We’re on a roll with these Book & A Brew posts!

Today, I am extremely excited to welcome Charlie Dean, another author friend who I connected with on Twitter and the Facebook Chick Lit and Prosecco, to chat about her newest release, I Love You Always Forever.

Charlie is an amazingly talented author with several pen names under her belt. Where Charlie Dean writes stories with a bit of a spice level to them, Florence Keeling writes Women’s Fiction, and Lily Mae Walters is her alter-ego who writes children’s books.

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Charlie! Now, the first thing we do is get the drinks sorted.

We’ve got pretty much anything you’d like, from all manner of coffees (from my trusty Tassimo) to hot chocolate, or tea. And I can brew up a proper masala chai, if you feel brave enough.

I was going to fry up some samosas, if you want to sample, or there are always biscuits, and I am known to make a super shortbread cookie…

It’s always tea and biscuits for me, especially a nice shortbread.

Perfect! That means I don’t need to turn on the oil to deep fry!

I always love to find out more about where a fellow author’s journey started. When did you realise you wanted to write, and how was your journey to becoming a published author?

I always wrote from a young age, poetry, short stories etc…used to write lots involving Take That and New Kids when I was a teenager. Then I left school, started work, got married, had children and it took a back seat. Around 2015/6 a story started to whirl in my head about a WW2 soldier and a magic mirror. In March 2016, my father who had dementia was taken into care and writing became a therapy for me and the book now known as Please Remember Me was born. It was picked up by a small American publisher, and I haven’t looked back.

I have this one on my TBR trolley (🙈 I won it in a giveaway from you, but that is one I still haven’t read. I will do, though!) I know what you mean about life getting in the way, though, as I started my first book in 2000, and after marriage, kids, etc., it didn’t get a look in until around 2016 and I didn’t finish that first draft until 2018!

I like to ask this one, because I’m a nosy so and so, but could you tell me where you like to write? Do you have a writing room/desk, or are you a writer who likes to take their laptop/notepad out and about?

I’m currently on the lookout for one of those old writing bureaus so I can finally make a writing space in the back room. So far all my books have been written sitting on my sofa with my laptop. My phone notes are full of ideas, last lines, first lines etc…

I used to have a writing bureau when I was a teen in my bedroom! It was a mahogany finish (not real antique!) one with a pull-down desk area, lots of nooks and crannies for stationery and a cupboard at the bottom. At the time, I moved out, my parents held on to it, and it was only a couple of years ago that they gave it away. I know it wouldn’t fit the decor of my home, now, but I wish we had found a space for it, here! But many stories were penned, sitting at that desk, as I grew up, dreaming of becoming a writer…

Now, have you ever written a book that you feel will never see the light of day? I know I have a few half-written ideas, but nothing I finished, completely, then set to one side!

Like you, I’ve got many WIPs and half-finished, but all my completed novels have been published either traditionally or self-published. I don’t think I could bear to have a finished story not out in the world.

And, do you have a favourite out of the books you have published so far?

Up until I wrote I Love You, Always, Forever…I would have said Love, Lies and Family Ties, but now it’s I Love You. I enjoyed writing it so much. Going back to my teenage years in the 90s was just an absolute blast.

I loved that, too. Reminiscing about my own teenage years in the 90s…

I’ve read a couple of your books under Florence Keeling, which I loved. Why the change to Charlie Dean?

Because I Love You is written in the first person, plus it’s very different to my usual writing and a little spicier in places, I felt it needed a different name to differentiate from the Florence books.

Now, I invited you over to have a little chat about your latest release under Charlie Dean, I Love You, Aways, Forever. What a gush of nostalgia I felt, reading it, since the main character, Charlie, was in sixth form, around the time I would have been there, listening to the music she was, and being rather shy. Then the parallel storyline of the present, with Charlie as a middle-aged woman. Well, there was plenty there to make me feel seen, too! Tell me more about your inspiration for the book.

It’s a little bit of me and a whole lot of fiction wrapped up in a 90s mix tape. It was written last summer as I came to terms with my mum’s own cancer battle, as does Charlie, and it helped me immensely. Much like Please Remember Me helped me cope with my father’s dementia, this book helped me cope with my mum’s cancer.

Writing can be so therapeutic, I agree. 🤗

What is it about the 90s that brings back such memories?

I’m a 70s baby, 80s kid and 90s teenager. There was just something so wonderful about those eras. The dodgy clothes and haircuts and thankfully no social media to document for the rest of eternity. I was very fortunate to have a loving family and a small close-knit group of friends who I’m still besties with today.

We are of the same ilk, you and me, born in the same era, with similar experiences. (Though mine are peppered with more masala since I have the Indian thing to add, too! 😜)

And, you must tell me, is there more in the pipeline from Charlie Dean? Any little tidbits I can share with my readers?

I’m currently working on a series of Rom-Coms under Charlie Dean, slightly spicy all with some kind of deal or pact going on. Things like jealousy pacts, childhood pacts, fake dating, those kinds of things. There will be one out this September, a lovely autumnal romance and fingers crossed, four next year, one for each season. I’m also hoping to get the third in my children’s fantasy adventure series Josie James and The Trail of Ages out this autumn and the second in my magic academy chapter book.

Harking back to the 90s, I loved Christian Slater, especially in the Heathers film. Hence one of the characters in the book being Christian Sawyer (Veronica Sawyer in the film) and using the surname of Dean as my pen name after the Jason Dean character in the film. I used Charlotte/Charlie as this was what I would have been christened if not my original name.

So much for us to get excited about, Peeps! Watch this space for more mildly spicy rom-com fiction from Charlie!

Thank you so much for inviting me, Ritu xxx

It was a pleasure to have you over. 😊

Peeps, you can read the blurb for I Love You, Always, Forever and my review below!

Purchase links follow.

The Blurb

Life is full of highs and lows, but it’s who helps us through that counts.

Stumbling across her teenage diaries in her childhood home, Charlie is instantly transported to the 1990s.

She relives all the emotions and feelings as memories come flooding back, from first kiss to first love and everything in between.

Back in the present and Charlie discovers that even in the darkest of times, light and laughter can ALWAYS be found.

A heartfelt journey through life, from teenage angst to the trials and tribulations of adulthood. Family, friendship and romance weave throughout but who will love you, always, forever?

BuyI Love You Always Forever HERE!

My Review

I Love You, Always, Forever by Charlie Dean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a rollercoaster of emotion this book put me through!
Not least because there is sensitive subject matter but because of all the reminiscing I could do, thanks to the book’s timeframe.
The story is set in the now as an adult Charlie, the main character, is coming to terms with life as a middle-aged woman, and dealing with all that comes with it, including dealing with loss and illnesses of loved ones, as well as a dual timeline of the 90s when she is a student in 6th form (like me), shy, exploring different elements of her personality, and experimenting with a very special relationship.
I loved it because I lived with so many of these experiences as a teenager. The nostalgia I felt was unreal. And then the additional relatability of life as a middle-aged woman. It was just wonderfully written!
There is romance, budding and established, friendships, family and the awakening of sexual feelings. A bit steamy in places too, but honestly, I got all the feels, in a good way!

Author Bio

I was born in Coventry but now live in Nuneaton. I married the love of my life over 20 years ago and we have two almost grown-up children. We share our lives with two mad dogs as well.

Writing is a great passion of mine. I love creating stories and characters, they help me escape from the world for a while and I hope readers feel the same.

I am a huge fan of All Creatures Great and Small, Call the Midwife and Bridgerton. I love history and romance.

I also write for children as Lily Mae Walters, and women’s fiction as Florence Keeling

Connect with Charlie on Social Media here:

Twitter as Charlie Dean: https://twitter.com/CharlieADean

Twitter as Florence Keeling: https://twitter.com/keelingflorence

Twitter as Lily Mae Walters: https://twitter.com/LilyMaeWalters1

Facebook: fb.me/florencekeelin…

Tell Me How THis Ends by @JoLeevers #BlogTour #BookReview @fmcmassociates

02 May 2023 5 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Jo Leevers, Tell Me How This Ends

Today I am bringing you a beautiful story written by Jo Leevers, Tell Me How This Ends.

The Blurb

Can Henrietta find out what happened to Annie’s sister—before it’s too late?

Haunted by the past, Henrietta throws herself into a new job transcribing other people’s life stories, vowing to stick to the facts and keep emotions at arm’s length. But when she meets the eccentric and terminally ill Annie, she finds herself inextricably drawn in. And when Annie reveals that her sister drowned in unexplained circumstances in 1974, Henrietta’s methodical mind can’t help following the story’s loose ends…

Unlike Henrietta, Annie is brimming with confidence—but even she has limits when it comes to opening up. Ever since that terrible night when her sister left a pile of clothes beside the canal and vanished, Annie has been afraid to look too closely into the murky depths of her memories. When her attempts to glide over the past come up against Henrietta’s determination to fill in the gaps, both women find themselves confronting truths they’d thought were buried forever—especially when Henrietta’s digging unearths a surprising emotional connection between them.

Could unlocking Annie’s story help Henrietta rewrite the most devastating passages in her own life? And, in return, can she offer Annie a final twist in the tale, before it’s too late?

My Review

Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A book I found I wanted to get back to as soon as I was able, every time, I had to put it down.
Henrietta is a woman with a quirky personality. She sees things in very specific ways. When she get a job at a centre for the terminally ill, helping them to write their life stories, I wondered how she would cope with the sensitive nature of the job.
And there were a few hiccups.
But she meets her first candidate, Annie, and how the story unfolds, and their relationship develops is beautiful.
It is not straightforward at all, though.
Annie has secrets. She has also suffered heartache through family situations and in her marriage. But Henrietta has her own skeletons, too.
Some sensitive issues are dealt with throughout the book, and the story is told in an engaging manner.
It’s a centre for the terminally ill. There will be sadness, but there are spots of brightness which make the read so worthwhile.

About the Author

Jo Leevers grew up in London and has spent most of her career working on
magazines, most recently writing features about homes and interiors for
leading newspapers and magazines. This means she gets to visit people
around the country and ask them about all the things in their homes.
Some might call this a licence to be nosey…
Tell Me How This Ends is her debut. Whether writing fiction or interviewing
people for articles, she is fascinated by the life stories that we all carry
with us. She has two grown-up children and lives with her husband and
their wayward dog, Lottie, in Bristol.