Book Review | But I Smile Anyway...

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 – 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.

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling #BlogTour #BookReview @FMcMAssociates @AmazonPub #InternationalFiction

30 Apr 2023 5 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blog Tour, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, The Woman Beyond The Sea, Translated Fiction

Today I am bringing you a beautiful story written byZhang Ling, Where Waters Meet.

The Blurb

A daughter discovers the dramatic history that shaped her mother’s secret life in an emotional and immersive novel by Zhang Ling, the bestselling author of A Single Swallow.
There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when Phoenix got married, Rain, who followed her from China to Toronto, came to share Phoenix’s life. Now at the age of eighty-three, Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation.
Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase—a memory box Rain had brought from home. Inside, Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her auntie Mei tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. What at first seems like a daughter’s quest to uncover a mother’s secrets becomes a startling journey of self-discovery.

Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel is a tale
of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets
we keep and those we share, and the driving forces it takes to survive.

My Review

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where Waters Meet is a heartwrenching story about a daughter and her journey to discovering the truth about her mother’s life after her death.
Phoenix, or Yuan Feng, travels from Canada to China in search of answers and peace for her mother, Rain, or Chunyu, from the only living relative left on her mother’s side, her mother’s sister.
The novel is told in a bit of a disjointed manner, moving back and forward from the present to various times in the past.
It took me a while to realise that the ‘past’ chapters were based on a manuscript that Phoenix is writing and sending back to her husband, George, in Canada, about her mother’s life and her own.
Once I got into the swing of it, I was intrigued.
I wanted to know the secrets of Chunyu. I felt the trauma of a young woman during the war-torn era in China, with the communist regime, facing famine, with a young daughter and a husband who couldn’t help due to injuries while in service.
I feel like I wanted to know more from Phoenix about how she felt when hearing about the most shocking parts of her mother’s past, which is not revealed until the final quarter of the book, as it is not something any child would expect to hear.
But I was invested in the story and felt the raw emotion of adult Phoenix and the young Chunyu before she could leave China with her daughter.

About the Author

Zhang Ling is the award-winning author of nine novels and numerous collections of
novellas and short stories, including A Single Swallow, translated by Shelly Bryant;
Gold Mountain Blues; and Aftershock, which was adapted into China’s first IMAX
movie with unprecedented box-office success.
Born in China, she moved to Canada in 1986 and, in the mid-1990s, began to write
and publish fiction in Chinese while working as a clinical audiologist. Since then, she
has won the Chinese Media Literature Award for Author of the Year, the Grand Prize
of Overseas Chinese Literary Award, and China Times’s Open Book Award. Where
Waters Meet is her first novel written in English.

Book and a Brew with Ritu – A Girl Like Me by Bettina Hunt @BeautySwot #NewRelease #BookReview #Book&ABrew

28 Apr 2023 10 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews Tags: A Girl Like Me, Bettina Hunt, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book and a brew with Ritu, Book Review, New Release

Busy week with my Book & A Brew posts!

Today, I am thrilled to welcome a dear friend and romance author, Bettina Hunt, to my blog for a cuppa and a bit of a chat about all things writerly, especially her newest release, A Girl Like Me.

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

Hello Ritu, thank you so much for having me today!

I would love a chai, please 😊

If we’re going with masala tea, I can offer you some homemade pakoras, but I also have some chocolate chip cookies, freshly baked by my daughter! What’s your preference?

Ooh, now pakoras would be lovely, yum! Thank you.

Fantastic! Here we are. I’ve got the chutneys ready, too!

Now, I know you have already published a few books, and your latest comes after a little break. Tell us more about your journey to becoming a published author.

I’ve always wanted to be an author but I’ve always loved to write and so whether it’s been poetry or setting up a school magazine in secondary school, I’ve always been writing in one way or another. At university, I had a website which had restaurant reviews and bizarrely my job application journey, but it disappeared overnight when Geocities was taken over by Yahoo. Years later I started a successful beauty and afternoon tea blog but I still loved creative writing, so on a Friday I would write a poem or a short story to share on what I called The Friday Column. One of those stories became my first published book A Tempting Trio. Since then I’ve written part of a series (2 of the books are out already with another two books planned) and another standalone story set in two locations – High Heels on the Beach.

And, is there a favourite out of all the books you have written, so far?

Isn’t this like asking a parent which is their favourite child?!

It is! I’m sorry! But, I still like to ask… 🫣

Ha ha. But, if I had to choose, I would say my latest A Girl Like Me, because it’s so personal to me and is written from the heart.

I think those are the books that will always have a special place…

I see you making all your home improvements regularly, on Instagram, but is there a special writing space you have in your house, or is there somewhere else you prefer to write?

I write anywhere I can, but my favourite place is the office in our house. I love it because the ambience is perfect, It’s so calming and is a great workspace. I find I’m always so productive when I’m working in there. Unfortunately, I have to share it with my husband so don’t have access to it when he’s working from home.

Boo! But, at least you have a part-time space!

I am a huge lover of romantic novels of all sorts. What pulled you towards that genre?

For me, I love a happy ever after and the idea that out there someone perfect for you exists. I love romantic comedy films. I like to laugh and have that heart-warming feeling when I finish watching them and the same applies to books in that genre. I love romance mixed with comedy so for me romcoms are a natural fit for my character. And I love reading books in the same genre.

Ah, me too! And, what with the way the world is, right now, we could all do with a bit of a warm, fuzzy feeling from our reading, at least!

Now, let’s come back to your new release, A Girl Like Me. First off, I loved it! (Review below!) It’s fiction, but also a very personal book, given what our main character Olivia discovers about herself. What made you want to write about Dyspraxia?

Oh, I’m so pleased you loved it! That makes me so happy!

I wanted to write about a character with Dyspraxia because I have this condition, but I only made this discovery when I turned forty! Now my life makes sense. It has explained a lot!

I thought the basis would make a good fictional story and Olivia would make a great character. I wanted to create a character who was dealing with similar challenges to the ones I faced, but who was able to find her own way and thrive despite them.

I think that comedy can be a really powerful tool for addressing serious topics in a way that’s relatable and engaging for audiences. For me, the key was to strike a balance between the funny moments and the more serious ones – to make sure that the comedy never felt like it was making light of the challenges that the character was facing. I also tried to draw on my own experiences and those of others with dyspraxia to make sure that the humour felt authentic and true to life.

I totally get that. It’s why I write what I do, and why. It’s taking a serious but almost ‘taboo’ subject and bringing it out f hiding, for people to begin talking, and understanding.

I hope that people will come away from the book with a greater understanding of what it’s like to live with dyspraxia, and with a sense of empathy and compassion for those dealing with similar challenges. But I also hope that they’ll see that it’s possible to overcome those challenges and live a fulfilling and happy life.

I hope that the story will be inspiring and uplifting for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t quite fit in, or like they were struggling to find their place in the world.

I think it will. 😊

I loved Caspar, her knight in shining armour. If A Girl Like Me was made into a film, who would play your main characters?

Gosh, that is a hard question because I don’t write with actors in mind although I did imagine the book as a film whilst writing it… So I think Olivia would have to be Emilia Clarke as I saw her in Last Christmas and knew that she would be perfect for the role.

For Caspar I would quite like to screen-test Henry Cavill for the role – He’s played Superman and Olivia likens Caspar to Superman so it would be fun to have him playing the part!

Yes! I can picture them in these roles! Perfect casting.

Do you think you would write any sort of follow-up to Olivia and Caspar’s story, as she rides the wave of success in her career, and juggles living with Dyspraxia?

Funny you should say that. I am toying with the idea of a sequel or two. I may or may not have the titles already so watch this space.

And that’s how my series was born, too! I always thought I’d write that story, then I’d be done, but so many thoughts came into play after writing it, and then the questions from reader feedback made me think of the next two books… and if things work out, there might be at least another three books and/or novellas that could come after… but, let me finish writing the third, first!

Betinna, I’m sure my readers would love to know… what do you have in the pipeline? Is there anything up your sleeves already?

Well as mentioned I have the sequels in the Without a Hitch series to write, I did start writing them, but life got in the way, as it tends to do. I also have the framework of an idea for a Christmas story which was shortlisted in a Penguin novel competition and another romance book which I’ve already created the cover for! I have a book that I wrote a few years back that needs editing – so that might be my next one. It’s a fun story with female friendship at its heart.

I know all about life getting in the way, my friend, as you are well aware! 😳

But, wow! Lots of lovely Bettina Hunt books in the pipeline! I am extremely happy to hear that! Peeps, you should really get these downloaded. They are wonderful reads!

Thank you so much for popping over, Bettina! I hope the chai wasn’t too strong, and the pakoras were crispy enough for you! 😊

And thank you for inviting me, Ritu.

My pleasure 😊

Peeps, you can read the blurb for A Girl Like Me and my review below!

Purchase links follow.

The Blurb

Cute and clumsy bumps into train man in a meet-cute that readers have described as ‘brilliant.’

She’s been asking the question, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ He holds the answer, but will knowing the truth change anything?

When perennially clumsy thirty-something, Olivia, falls into the arms of a stranger, she thinks nothing of it, after all, this sort of thing happens to her all the time. You see ordinary, everyday, tasks that other people seem to manage with ease have always been a struggle for Olivia so over the years she’s developed coping strategies. And, if they don’t work, well she can always rely on her friendly support network to help her out, right?

But when a new boss arrives at the advertising agency where she works, Olivia’s forced out of her comfort zone and fighting to prove herself.

And when Caspar, the mysterious and perfectly together stranger who saved her life, begins appearing everywhere she goes, she can’t help wondering, could she also be falling in love?

Not your (neuro) typical boy meets girl story.

A Girl Like Me is a romantic comedy that celebrates the power of love, the beauty of differences and the courage to be yourself, flaws and all.

Find A Girl Like Me HERE and all Bettina’s other books here!

My Review

A Girl Like Me: The most uplifting and heartwarming romantic comedy you’ll read this year by Bettina Hunt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I will start by gushing.
I LOVED this book!
Olivia, the main character, is as clumsy as they come. She is always tripping up, dropping things, missing her mouth… and always at inopportune moments.
Thankfully she has some great friends and colleagues who help get her through some sticky situations, considering there are plenty of people out there, ready to undermine her for the same quirks.
Then a knight in shining armour saves her life after a particularly dramatic clumsy episode.
I don’t want to go into all the details. Otherwise, what is the point of you reading the book? But it’s safe to say that there are characters readers will fall for.
I loved Devinder, her work colleague and one who has known her for a long time. They get along like a house on fire, and he is one of her heroes, too (but not the romantic kind!)
She also has a supportive housemate, Russell, and another warrior of a best friend, Steph, in her corner.
Then there is Caspar. I loved Caspar. He is a breath of fresh air. An honest guy with a heart of gold and genuine feelings.
Bettina Hunt delves into a world of undiagnosed dyspraxia in a sensitive manner, with lightness and humour.

Author Bio

Bettina Hunt lives in the East of England with her husband and two young sons. She writes uplifting romantic comedies and women’s fiction with fun and relatable heroines.

An avid reader from a very young age, she wrote her first story whilst in primary school and was invited to take it into Reception and read it to the class. The positive feedback she received that day made her aspire to be an author and that childhood dream is now a reality.

Bettina loves comedy, cocktails and afternoon tea. She can’t dance but loves to sing. She does all her own stunts but rarely intentionally. She has Dyspraxia and is on a mission to raise awareness of what it’s like to have this condition, starting with her latest fiction novel – A Girl Like Me.

You will find her on all the usual social media channels where she’d love to hear from you.