But I Smile Anyway…

Today, I have a lovely visitor to my Book & A Brew with Ritu segment, and that is Jodie Homer, talking about all things writing and her newest release, Married By Thirty.

Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway,Jodie! Let’s get you set with a drink, first. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or maybe a masala chai?

Hello Ritu

Ooh, I wouldn’t say no to a hot chocolate, especially with cream. Yummy.

Love a bit of whipped cream! I can offer you some homemade pakoras, but I also a Victoria sponge, freshly baked by my daughter! What’s your preference?

I could take some pakoras right now thank you.

So, could you tell me a bit about your journey to becoming a published author, Jodie?

I love this question, I’ve always loved writing and reading, and I wish I had started a bit sooner, but I started writing with a little idea after joining the chick lit group and came up with my first novel Raindrops on the Umbrella Cafe. I have learnt so much since I started with editing and writing I feel like I’m finally getting it now.

It’s amazing what you pick up as you go along, isn’t it? I think, having self-published my first book, before being signed, I have a different way of thinking about the whole process.

Do you have a favourite out of the books you have published so far?

Is it bad to have a favourite? Of course not! Is it like having a favourite child? Erm, kinda. But we all have one! I do have a favourite but ssh, don’t tell the others. A Magical Christmas on the Isle of Skye is my favourite. My two main characters Emilia and Harry are my favourite couple.

I know you are busy, like me, juggling childcare and work with trying to write. Do you have a special place where you do all your creating and writing?

I wish I had an office to write but unfortunately, I write where I can so in bed or on the sofa with the remote next to me and a snack on the other side.

That was me, too, before we moved and I was able. to have my own room! Old habits die hard though, and I can still be found with my laptop in bed!

Why romance? And why Scotland?

I’ve always loved romance novels. I am the most hopeless romance there probably ever was and I love happily ever after. The myths of Scotland came before the towns the books are set in. I research the myth and base the book on that town. I’ve never been so I spend a lot of time on Google Maps.

Google Maps is a godsend, isn’t it?

Let’s get back to your latest release, Married by Thirty. Two friends with a pact, that gets thrown off course because of a haunted house. Was this storyline based upon any real myths?

Yes, it is. It’s not the clearest myth. Basically, the manor house is real and the myth is the earl’s (not duke’s) wife dies and the earl locks the door of the manor house, and there are all sorts of rumours as to what happened to the wife so I basically rewrote it but added in Freya and James.

The friends-to-lovers trope is quite a big one. Is that a trope you enjoy to read, too?

Yes! I absolutely adore the friends-to-lovers trope I love the history of characters and their feelings. When i was in year 7 I got together with my best friend and we stayed together through the whole of secondary school.

Have you ever had any experience of ghosts or hauntings?

No, I haven’t, but I absolutely loved writing any scene with Dahlia in there. She is actually my favourite character. I wish I had a more interesting haunting story to tell, but I don’t. Never say never!

I know you have another book lined up for release soon, too. Care to share any details about that?

I do. I have a Christmas book called A Village Called Christmas, out in November. It’s about a character called Holly who loves Christmas, and she runs away from her cheating boyfriend to a village called Christmas where all of the characters have Christmassy names, and it’s like a Hallmark Christmas movie where the male character Joseph’s family may or may not be the real Santa Claus.

Sign me up already! That sounds fantastic! Peeps, already another one to add to your TBR piles!

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

Thank you so much for having me today. 😊

The Blurb

Almost fourteen years ago, Freya and James made a pact to marry if they were both single at thirty. When Freya inherits Mulberry Manor and its rumoured ghost, she returns home and enlists James’ help in figuring out the truth behind the ‘haunted house’. But it’s not just the house that is being a little weird. Can James and Freya figure out the mystery of Dahlia Mulberry without the spark between them setting both their lives on fire? And now they’re both thirty… when the clock strikes midnight, will they really put a ring on it?

Buy it by clicking below!

My Review

Married By Thirty by Jodie Homer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Freya arrives back in her hometown on the Isle of Skye after a bout of bad luck. She wishes she’d never moved away to chase her dreams.
Instead, she is back, having inherited a supposedly haunted manor house, and back in the midst of her best friends, including Jamie.
Jamie, who she also shared a pact with about getting married to each other if they were still unmarried by thirty.
Jamie, who was her first love.
But, before she can think about her love life, there are some more pressing issues at play in her new house…
Issues that begin to make Freya question the one relationship she thought was solid.
I loved Dahlia Mulberry, an extra special character, who I don’t want to talk about too much, but I almost wish there were another book detailing her story … hint, hint!
A quick, fun read with a haunting mystery to solve.
Married by Thirty is the second book in the series For The Love Of A Scottish Myth.

About the Author

Jodie lives in a small village in Solihull with her husband and two children. She loves nothing more than dancing around embarrassingly to 90s music and eating mint chocolate. Jodie enjoys reading and writing books full of romance and swoon-worthy fictional men.

Follow Jodie on Social Media!

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/jodietheauthor

Twitter
https://twitter.com/umbrellacafe

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/jodie_loves_books/

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21824053.Jodie_Homer?ref=nav_profile_l