Is she a glutton for punishment, or does she just like my nibbles? Kiley is back for a fourth visit!
Today, I am thrilled to welcome amazing romance author Kiley Dunbar to my blog for a cuppa and a bit of a chat about all things writerly, especially her newest release,A New Chapter at the Borrow a Bookshop. It’s out, TODAY!
Welcome back, Kiley, for your fourth Book and A Brew with Ritu! Something of a record, there!What drink would you like? I’ve got all the usual, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, masala tea?
Hi! It’s so nice to be back round at yours! Thanks for having me back. I’ve been reading your lovely characters in In God’s Hands. (I’m hiding behind my hands -eek!) and getting FOMO – so please can I have some, with sugar!
Absolutely! And, today there are fairy cakes! ��
Ooh, nice! I brought some Scottish tablet, which I make every new year. Hope you love it, it is ridiculously sweet. Why, thank you! The last time I had tablet was when we went camping for my Duke of Edinburgh Award nearly 35 years ago! (Jez, that makes me sound old!)
I love that you are back here for another cuppa with me, Kiley! How have you been? What is new in Kiley Dunbar land?
Cheers! It’s so nice to be back. I feel like I’ve spent the last couple of weeks with you as I’ve been reading In God’s Hands every night before bed and loving it!
Sheesh! Thank you!
What’s new with me? Well, I have lots of happy news this new year! A new book just released called A New Chapter at the Borrow a Bookshop, as well as a new book series coming up later in the year! Phew! It’s all go in Kiley Dunbar land!
And any new vintage bits you’ve acquired recently to tell me about?
Sooo many! From my vintage 1980’s Stead and Simpson (remember them?) ankle boots (somehow never been worn and on eBay) and lots of little vintage trinkets for the house. I can’t resist glassware or plant pots from the charity shops! I’d rather find and fix than buy new. It’s all about the fun of the search for me!
I love seeing your posts with your finds!
I’m going to the Meet Cute festival this year. Will you be there? Is there anywhere else that your reader fans may meet you this year?
Sadly no, I’m going to be laying low in 2025 (as far as events go) as I have two books to write for my new series. It’s going to be a busy year. I’ll miss seeing you there, though; the Meet Cute Festival always sounds amazing! Make sure you tell us all about it on your blog!
Oh, I will do that! I have somehow managed to volunteer for one or two talks there, too!
Have you joined the Bluesky revolution? I have, but I don’t know if I am giving myself more work, lol!
I’ve only just got on Threads, haha. Not sure I can cope with another new socials! I think I’ll stick to enjoying my Instagram for now, I feel like I have most fun on there. I’m full of admiration for folks branching out with Bluesky. Maybe I’ll see you over there one day!
I’ll be honest; I’m there, but not really active… I think Insta/FB are my main platforms and Tiktok/Threads come second!
Let’s return to the book of the moment, A New Chapter at The Borrow a Bookshop. Book 5 in one of my favourite series! I did love this kind of second chance/friend-to- lovers theme! Did you enjoy writing Annie and Harri’s story?
I enjoyed it more than any other book I’ve written. It’s my first ever attempt at my favourite ever trope ‘friends to lovers’ and every page was fun! Harri and Annie were made for each other, but of course they take a while to realise and there’s a lovely ‘will they/won’t they’ slow burn with a tiny bit of spice along the way.
And the mystery of the Clove Lore Castle… that was entertaining! Inspired by anything real that you may have read or a total figment of your imagination?
I wanted to explore a bit of the countryside around Clove Lore in this one and so the creepy old castle and its mysterious hermit owner came into being. I also really wanted Harri and Annie to spend the night accidentally locked-in somewhere away from the bookshop, hence the castle’s old gothic library with the roaring fireplace where they, ahem, realise they might be more than just friends. That was perfect!
Please tell me this isn’t the end of my dream holiday spot!
Well… I never say never. I hope one day I can go back to Clove Lore and make more book nerds fall in love, but for now there’ll be a break in the series. I’m going to miss everyone sooo much! I know that feeling. Right now, I am toying with the idea of a series book 4 or something totally different, but those Rishtay characters are so compelling!.
Now, what do we have in store for you, book-wise, next?
I have a brand new series launching in summer 2025 (with publisher Boldwood Books) called The Highland Repair Shop. It’s set in my version of the Scottish Cairngorm mountains and centres round a community of expert fixers. It’s all about people who love their planet and will not take broken for an answer. That goes for broken hearts too. I promise it will be very, very romantic as well as community and sustainability-minded. Are you a make-do-and-mender, Ritu? It suits my thrifty (read ‘tight with money’ haha) disposition.
This sounds like another corker, Kiley! I cannae wait! And, while I’m not much of a mender, I totally agree with the thrifty mentality!
Thanks so much for a lovely cuppa and chat! You really know how to help a girl celebrate a book launch, Ritu! I’ve had a blast.
I am thrilled to have been able to host you again, Kiley. I know it won’t be long before you are back!
Now, as I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of A New Chapter At The Borrow A Bookshop, so let me share the blurb and my review.
The Blurb
A decade after they said goodbye after graduation, old friends Harri and Annie reunite in the beautiful village of Clove Lore in Devon – what more could these bookworms want than a holiday running the tumbledown bookshop?
Unbeknownst to Annie, Harri is arriving with a bruised heart after the end of his long-term relationship, while Annie is running away from painful memories in Texas.
Elsewhere in Clove Lore, the mysterious owner of Castle Lore has died, causing much gossip in the village. When Harri and Annie are sent to investigate the huge Gothic library, they find themselves locked in overnight and soon, are discovering their connection might be more than just good friends…
I make no secret of the fact that I am a total Kiley Dubar Fan. I have read every one of her books and love the worlds she builds. They are relatable and visitable all in one! Clovelore is somewhere I want to go, and I’ve already said in previous reviews that if there were a Borrow A Bookshop holiday scheme, I would 100% be up for it! This time, we meet the new borrowers, Harri and Annie, old friends who were Uni pals and flatmates, then separated after graduation. Harri stayed in Wales with his girlfriend, and Annie flew back to The States. The simmering chemistry between these two friends is obvious, and Kiley turns the heat up in teeny notches. You can feel the attraction slowly reaching the boiling point, and I love how she does that! Of course,, we get to catch up with all the other Clovelore locals and some of the previous borrowers, as well as meet a wonderful new character, William Sabine, who has a heartbreaking story of his own. I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful read. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend the rest of the series, too, simply because it is such a brilliant concept! May thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for an ARC.
And here’s a little about Kiley and her other books.
Kiley Dunbar is Scottish and lives in England with her husband, two kids and Amos the Bedlington Terrier. She writes around her work at a university in the North of England where she lectures in English Literature and Creative Writing.
Is she a glutton for punishment, or does she just like my nibbles? Kiley is back for a third visit!
Today, I am thrilled to welcome amazing romance author Kiley Dunbar to my blog for a cuppa and a bit of a chat about all things writerly, especially her newest release,Love Letters at the Borrow a Bookshop. It’s out, TODAY!
And, before you read any further, there is a fabulous giveaway! Kiley has kindly offered a copy of her beautiful book and some other treats for one of the commenters. (UK and Ireland only, though, unfortunately!)
Credit to Tea Leaves and Reads for the beautiful bookmark that will accompany the book.
A third time back here for a cuppa and a chat, Kiley. Is it the scintillating company, or the snacks? (Hee hee!)
Hi, Ritu! You know I’ll always turn up for tea any time you ask me! Thanks so much for having me back.
What drink would you like? I’ve got all the usual, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or that masala tea if you are brave enough to try some?
You know I’m going to say masala tea please, lots of sugar, thanks.
Good choice. Masala tea always tasted better with plenty of sugar!And, today my daughter baked some chocolate chip cookies for our nibbles. 😊
You know I’m going to say masala tea please, lots of sugar, thanks.
How lovely to have you back here, Kiley! You were my first ever Book and a Brew guest, you know. 😊 Could you update me on what’s been going on in your writing life since we last chatted?
Where does the time go, Ritu! Well, since we last had a brew, I’ve been making over my garden, turning it into a writing garden with lots of cosy little nooks. And it must have helped as I’ve another book out and another almost finished! I do love your garden writing spots!
I’ve seen the online writing course/coaching you have been doing on Patreon. Have any of your students finished a first draft level yet? Do you enjoy the coaching side of this?
That’s right! I taught a ‘write your romance novel’ course in 2023 and the participants made such amazing drafts I just know I’ll be seeing those on sale one day soon. For 2024, I thought I’d try something different, a series of recorded webinars on Patreon. Romance authors can download as many as they like and watch them whenever they want. So far, I have one webinar posted and there’s a second on the way. Sounds awesome! You are pretty inspirational, you know!
As you know, I’m off to the Romantic Novelists Association Conference this summer, and I am a bit gutted I won’t be meeting you! I am looking forward to meeting many other lovely writer friends in person who I have only encountered online.What do you enjoy the most about these in-person author events and conferences?
I love an author event. Writing is such a solitary business, and it’s not the best industry for well-being and mental health, so regularly meeting up with other writers who understand the strains (and the triumphs) really helps. True. Though I don’t feel much solitude, as most of my time is spent with a class of 30 4-5 year olds, the solitude when I do write is quite welcomed!
You posted on Instagram about a poem you got AI-operated CoPilot to write… It was very funny and pretty accurate in many ways. (I had a go; it poetically regurgitated my author bio, lol!) What is your feeling about AI and creative writing? I know it is a bit of a hornet’s nest right now.
I did, and it was a great way to show how these things can only scrape the available online material, and it might well come out in a garbled mess. It really made me laugh.
In 2023 I had my first AI review of one of my books, which I really didn’t understand. It had the right book title but the setting and character names were wrong and the AI had cobbled together a plot which didn’t have a thing to do with my book! All very odd. Why would someone even do that? SMH!
Genuine human connectedness and creativity cannot be replaced but still, I worry. In an industry where on average most authors already make way below a living wage, there will be people and groups calling themselves ‘publishers’ who will sell AI generated stories, bypassing the need to pay writers altogether, all while exploiting real writers’ books for content and ideas. It really is a worry, especially if work like that sells. Makes the years and tears we put into our book babies feel worthless… Dont’ worry, Kiley; I’ll always be there to read yours!
So, back to the main event! The fourth Borrow a Bookshop book is out today! Love Letters at the Borrow A Book Shop. I LOVE this series, something special! I am still waiting for us to do this for real, Kiley! Honestly, I think this series could go on, and on. There is so much potential. What do you think?
Aww, thank you, Ritu! That means a lot coming from you especially. Well, I’m writing book 5 in the series at the moment and am wondering if this is going to be the last one. Who knows? I’d never say never. I do know I’d miss these adorable book nerds and the Clove Lore locals and little Aldous the dog! (No!! Say it isn’t so! 😭😭)
This time, your new bookshop renter was Austen, a young writer and book enthusiast who is riddled with anxiety. And I think she is your first LGBTQ+ main character, right? How did you find writing an FF romance rather than an FM one? I know it was a strange experience when I wrote my first MM one in Straight as a Jalebi!
You did such a lovely job in Straight as a Jalebi! I loved that book. Aw, thank you! All my books have featured Queer characters and love stories, but you’re right, this is the first with a Sapphic couple front and centre, and I adored seeing them find each other.
I think Austen is more like me than any of my other characters. I let out all her anxieties and insecurities in this story, and I wanted her to be rewarded for her struggles with a really enormous, joyful love story. She just has to be brave and go for it. You did a grand job of that!
I always love dipping back into the lives of the rest of the inhabitants in the village, and this time, you treated us to a second blossoming romance, too, with an existing Clove Lore resident and another newcomer. Do you know how the characters will get interwoven in follow-up books? Is that something in your long-term series plan? Or, like my characters, do yours keep talking to you, telling you they want a meatier role in the next book, and keep popping up in scenes, forcing your hand?
I don’t really plan for future books as I’m writing. But I do know now (writing book 5) that only three single Clove Lore residents haven’t found love yet. Everyone else had been paired up over the series. I’d like Esteé Gold – the ex-TV star fallen on hard times in Love Letters at the Borrow a Bookshop – to get a love story of her own one day. Maybe that could be a little spin-off, or a novella!
And, I already know a fifth book in the series is coming (Yippie! Dies a happy dance!) next year. Will there be more? And what else do we have coming from the wonderful Kiley Dunbar?
You can expect book five (a Valentine’s Borrow a Bookshop special) in January 2025. After that, I have something special up my sleeve for you all! I’ve only written a little bit of it and have no idea if it will ever see the light of day but it is very romantic. Oh, now I am all excited again!!!!
What are you up to at the moment, Ritu? I want to hear all your writing gossip. You can whisper it if it’s still top secret…
Ah, thank you for asking! So, I am in the throes of getting the first draft of book three in the Rishtay Series written. I have utilised the school Easter break extremely productively! Not sure of a publication date, yet, but it won’t be long, hopefully, edits pending. After that, well, I have a few ideas for further spin-off stories, possibly another full-length novel set more in the present, with some of the younger characters from the stories at the forefront. Yes, there are a couple of other plans a-brewing, but nothing set in stone, just yet!
Aah, my cup is empty. I think I need to get back to my characters, but than you for having me, Ritu 🙂
Right now, I am just happy you came over! And, thank you so much for arranging for a giveaway for one of my readers!
Peeps, remember to comment if you are from the UK/Ireland to be in with a chance of winning! I will contact you, no one else, for address details to send to Kiley. You should not receive any unsolicited requests for any details!
Now, as I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Love Letters At The Borrow A Bookshop, so let me share the blurb and my review.
The Blurb
Can she write her perfect love story?
Austen Archer is on her dream solo bookselling holiday, the new ‘borrower’ at the Borrow-A-Bookshop in Devon’s Clove Lore. While she has always loved poetry, her words have dried up since being fired by her last boss, bestselling author, Callista Flyte, a year ago.
Austen distracts herself with the Borrow-A-Bookshop, as well as her flirty online exchanges with an anonymous Parisian bookseller. Hiding from the world, Austen doesn’t notice that wedding planner, Patti, is falling for her – and is too afraid to admit that she feels the chemistry, too.
But as Patti and Austen grow closer, culminating in a magical day at the wildflower meadow, can Clove Lore work its customary magic and bring the two together? And will Austen find the confidence to risk her heart and write again?
Well, if you’ve read my reviews, you already know I love Kiley Dunbar, and visiting one of her favourite made-up places, Clove Lore, again is a joy. The Borrow a Bookshop series has become one of my favourites. I mean, which self-respecting book lover would turn their nose at a holiday where you get to pretend you own a bookshop (and run a lovely little cafe) and surround yourself with the smell of books for two weeks? So, what fun to hear that there was a fourth installment! I couldn’t wait to catch up with old characters and meet the new temporary owner(s). This time, we meet Austen. Once bitten, twice shy, Austen is a character who riddles with self-doubt. This holiday was booked for her and another, who, given certain circumstances, was no longer coming. Still, books and words are Austen’s lifeblood, so this break was not one for cancelling. Through her trip, a change occurs as she gains her confidence, and then she finds herself in a bit of a confusing situation regarding admirers from two very different places. Both have their place in helping her find herself once more, but where things end was always the route I had hoped for. We were given a treat in that there was not one but two blossoming romances this time, and both storylines kept me turning the pages on my Kindle as fast as I could. Another new character, a new resident of Clove Lore, and one of the villagers have a hate-to-love situation that is great to read. Honestly, another favourite of mine, and I cannot wait to read the next one… (April 2025 needs to hurry up!) Many thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for an ARC.
Here is the buy link for #lovelettersattheborrowabookshop
And here’s a little about Kiley and her other books.
Kiley Dunbar is Scottish and lives in England with her husband, two kids and Amos the Bedlington Terrier. She writes around her work at a university in the North of England where she lectures in English Literature and Creative Writing.
Oh, how exciting to have another of my wonderful guests come back for a repeat visit! Today the wonderful Kiley Dunbar is here with me to chat about her latest release, The Gingerbread Christmas Village!
Welcome back to But I Smile Anyway, Kiley! How lovely to have you back here with me! We’d better get a drink sorted first, so let me know what you are craving, be it a hot drink or cold… or since we will be chatting Christmas, maybe mulled wine might be more appropriate.
And, I have even baked some gingerbread men as a nod to a certain book. 😊
It’s so nice to be back. Thanks for inviting me. I’m happy with a brew to dunk my gingerbread man in, thanks lovely. Cheers!
Since I saw you last you’ve released the gorgeous Straight As A Jalebi. Congratulations!
Thank you so much, Kiley! I have been so nervous about it, but the release went extremely well.
I think we need an update on all things Kiley, before we start! What have you been up to, since your visit last year?
I’ve been writing non-stop and lecturing at the Manchester Writing School, as well as running my ‘Write Your Romance Novel in 2023 with Kiley Dunbar’ online webinars. It’s been a LOT! Phew! But you know all about it, teaching, writing, blogging and somehow still finding time to read and review!
You need to tell me all about your new garden and writing space! It looks amazing!
Thanks, Ritu! Since we’re not off on holidays this year, I decided to make my garden a relaxing spot where I can take a break. We knocked down two little sheds and revealed a lovely big border where I dug a pond, and we planted trees and shrubs and even some veggies. It’s so nice to sit there on my ridiculously big lounger and watch the fish swimming. There’s a little arbour seating area with a table where I can write on warm days too. It’s added so much to our quality of life. I’m very lucky!
Your writing room always looks so calming! How do you keep your workspace so tidy? Mine ends up cluttered with mugs and paperwork! Haha!
I think it is because I don’t get to use it as much during term time, because of work stress and exhaustion! However, I am a typical Virgo, and I need organisation and calm around me to work well!
Totally not book related, but I love all the pics of your vintage finds that you post. What inspired your love of vintage pieces, be it clothing or accessories?
Oh, I LOVE a rummage in a charity shop or on eBay or Etsy looking for vintage clothes and houseware. I especially love 1980s clothes and accessories, and I share pics of how I style them on my Instagram account @kileydunbarauthor
Are you a magpie for vintage stuff?
I don’t tend to go out looking, however I do like to recycle wonderful things that my mum has squirrelled away! She has some gorgeous Indian outfits that were barely worn, and I used to wear them loads, when I was slightly smaller. (They came from an era when she was slightly smaller too! Probably would fit my daughter, now!)
Now, back to the writing side… You’ve written a few books with Christmas at the core of them. Is Christmas a favourite time of year for you? Can you share a special memory from a Christmas past?
I was brought up in Scotland and my favourite memories of Christmases past are of the heavy snows in the 80s and of spending Christmas day at Gran and Grandads with their Scottish country music records playing and me twirling in my Christmas dresses! And then there was New Year’s Day at my great aunt’s (she was a wonderful home cook), I loved going there. And my birthday is on the 29th, and wedding anniversary on the 16th of December, so all our celebrations are at Christmas. It’s a big deal for me. Plus, I just love the darkness! I think it’s my Scandinavian roots! Hehe!
I was lucky enough to read an early copy of The Gingerbread Christmas Village, and I absolutely loved it! But books with food at the heart don’t half make me hungry! Are you a good Gingerbread baker?
I’m not bad but not a gifted baker. I’m better at cakes than biscuits. Luckily there’s a very famous bakery where I live (Chatwins) who make the best gingerbread men! My kids were raised on them!
Mind you, your gingerbread men are giving them a serious run for their money, Ritu. These are delicious! Thank you!
Something I loved about The Gingerbread Christmas Village was that your main character, Margi, was an older woman. The majority of romance novels tend to have younger heroines, and even when there is a second chance romance, they might be in their 30s or 40s, but you chose a woman in her 60s, and portrayed her so well. Sixty is not old at all, and that really echoed positively in me. Why did you choose for her to be a much older woman?
I’m so glad you loved Margi! Yay! Lately, I’ve been thinking so much about ageing, since I stopped dying my hair, letting my greys shine, and since I started HRT. There’s so much we don’t talk about when it comes to ageing, and one of those things is how older people fare romantically. I don’t see why characters in their 20s and 30s should have the monopoly of happy ever afters.
I love this, being a full embracer of the greys, too, and on that HRT journey! yay for more relatable heroines, for us!
Your cast of side characters were, as ever, an entertaining bunch! Do you ever base your characters on people you know?
Never ever! Haha! That wouldn’t be very fair. But I do notice and remember traits, quirks and little habits of speech and behaviour and they all go into my brain’s big writing scrapbook to draw upon when I need them.
As I mentioned above, I have read and reviewed this fantastic book, already, and I will share my review, below, but as always, I must ask you, what can we expect next from Kiley Dunbar?
I was so touched by your review, thank you so much, Ritu!
What’s next? Well, I’m just finishing the fourth ‘Borrow a Bookshop’ novel. So far, it doesn’t even have a title or cover art, but I’ll be able to share that soon enough. Then, after that, there’s a fifth book in the series. I ADORE writing about my Devonshire bookshop Airbnb and could write these stories literally forever!
I am SOOOOO excited, and I cannot wait!
Shall we have another brew and gingerbread man and you can tell me your writing plans for the rest of the year, Ritu? I need a good catch-up on all the gossip!
I’ll never say no to another cuppa, Kiley!
So, my plans are that I need to get WORDS written over this summer break, for book three which is due out in June next year! It is going to be my tightest turnaround, so I have tried to factor in writing time over the Summer break, and I have signed up for Anita Faulkner’s Autumn Writer’s retreat, in September, which is a virtual weekend filled with encouragement! So, the hope is to get the manuscript finished before the end of year in order for the pre-reading and editing to get done!
Thank you so much for coming over again, Kiley. It has been a pleasure! 🥰
Thank you Ritu. 😊
Now, as I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of The Gingerbread Christmas Village, so let me share the blurb and my review.
The Blurb
Everyone deserves a Christmas treat…
The annual Wheaton gingerbread exhibit (a model village made of gingerbread) and grotto has been an important part of the sleepy Cotswold hamlet’s Christmas celebrations for decades. For years the gingerbread exhibition drew visitors from across the region and each year the model town grew more elaborate and ambitious but recently, interest has been dwindling.
The gingerbread grotto needs to be rehomed or close forever.
Sixty-four-year-old Margi, the event’s founder, has had enough of village life (and its total lack of eligible men) and is planning to sell up and head to Birmingham to live closer to her niece. She has lost her spark and her Christmas spirit and decides this will be her last gingerbread village, but despairs when she finds her only support is her old friend, Izzy, her niece Lucy from Birmingham, and Fern, the shy young farmer’s daughter.
Oh, and Patrick, the gorgeous, reliable school caretaker.
As if this wasn’t enough, Lucy is determined to get her out dating again and persuades her to try some online dating apps but Margi’s had her heart broken too many times and wonders if she has just missed her chance.
Can they save the Gingerbread Grotto and can Margi get her old spark and her Christmas spirit back?
A cosy, totally feelgood seasonal read that will have you smiling. The perfect read to snuggle up and have you feeling festive! Fans of Jenny Colgan and Trisha Ashley will love this book.
I love diving into Kiley Dunbar’s books, and I was looking forward to this latest one, and it didn’t disappoint. Margi, our main character, is a 64-year-old woman who is in a bit of a dilemma in life. She feels like the laughingstock of Wheaton Village after a messed up shortest-ever marriage the previous year and wants to start afresh. Only she has a huge responsibility on her shoulders, in the form of a gingerbread village that she creates annually with the help of some friends. It is a tradition started by her mother and one she can’t bear to stop. However, circumstances seem to be pushing her in the direction of ending it. I am not going to regurgitate the story as my review, as that won’t be fair on any prospective readers. What I will say is that if you want a feel-good romance with heart, and a HEA, then Kiley Dunbar is definitely the author to turn to. Kiley has also written a slightly different character as her main one, this time, in the form of an older woman, not quite in her twilight years but feeling past it. Women in their 60s are not perceived as how they were a couple of decades ago. They aren’t all automatically a part of the blue rinse brigade and only fit for knitting, tea and low walks with zimmer frames. Margi, I feel, thinks she is not worthy of another shot at happiness, especially with someone younger than her, and I loved the morphing of her thinking towards the end of the book. (Even though doubt is never far away.) And all the reading about gingerbread made me crave some, in the middle of the summer, too! I’d love to see a gingerbread village like the one Margi’s mum and then Margi created. A wonderful festive read! Many thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for an ARC.
And here’s a little about Kiley and her other books.
Kiley Dunbar writes heart-warming, escapist, romantic fiction set in beautiful places.
One Winter’s Night is shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel Award 2021.
CHRISTMAS AT THE BORROW A BOOKSHOP COMING SOON
Take your pick from Kiley’s six novels (for author’s accompanying content/trigger warnings go to kileydunbar.co.uk):
Matchmaking at Port Willow (NEW FOR SEPT 2021) Beatrice is back in this sequel to Summer at the Highland Coral Beach, and she’s loved up and wanting other inn guests to experience the same magic she did last summer. Low-tech dating profiles, empty-nesters on a second honeymoon, and a lonely New Yorker in exile. With added puppies and Heiland Coos.
The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday (May 2021) Jude rents a tumbledown bookshop by the sea in Clove Lore, Devon, for a fortnight. When fellow bookseller-holidaymaker Elliot turns up unannounced, she discovers she’s not the only one running away from real life. Only one bed, bookselling and blossoming romance.
One Winter’s Night (September 2020) Return to Stratford-upon-Avon for a winter full of adventure, romance and family drama. Mystery, new neighbours, and a show-stopping theatrical procession. The sequel to One Summer’s Night.
Summer at the Highland Coral Beach (2020), the first in the Port Willow Bay Series, takes you on an impromptu crafting holiday in the Scottish Highlands and reminds us that after the storm comes the rainbow. Crafts, ceilidhs, coral bays and gentle recovery.
Christmas at Frozen Falls (2019) will fly you to snowy, remote Finnish Lapland over Christmas where Sylvie Magnussen is getting a second chance at love with an old flame – sexy Stellan Virtanen – the one who got away – well, he ran away actually, and Sylvie never understood why. Hot kisses in a cold climate, Northern lights and a stunning resort setting.
One Summer’s Night (2019) whisks you away on a working staycation in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon during a sultry heatwave summer. A starting-over story, handsome actors, backstage passes, and a whole lot of drama in the Heart of England.
Trying something a bit different today with my book review… You’ll have to let me know if it should be a regular ‘thing’.
Today, I am thrilled to welcome amazing romance author Kiley Dunbar to my blog for a cuppa and a bit of a chat about all things writerly, especially her newest release,Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop. it’s out TODAY!
Hello, and welcome to But I Smile Anyway, Kiley! 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, chai latte, or would you like to be brave and have a traditional homemade Indian masala tea?
Hiya Ritu! Thanks so much for having me. It’s been ages since we had a brew and a catch-up! Since I’ve already had my morning coffee, I’d better switch to tea, please, or I’ll get the shakes! Very jealous of your Tassimo machine, though!
Don’t worry. We can try that later if you need a top-up. 😉
If we’re going masala tea, then I can bust out the samosas and pakoras (fried potato and vegetable fritters), but I do have biscuits, specifically shortbread, too!
Ah, wow! Hit me up with the samosas and pakoras, please! They smell amazing, and I missed breakfast again, a bit of a bad habit I have when I’m in the thick of writing!
I promise the snacks won’t be too spicy. I am a very bad Indian, you know… I can’t handle food that is too hot! Right, here we are. I have fried snacks, the masala tea, and I’ve got a plate of Indian sweets here, too, since we attended a wedding last week, and we were gifted boxes of the stuff! It is very sweet, mind you.
So, the last few years have been pretty busy for you, haven’t they? No less than seven books out, since 2019. Quite a feat! Can you tell me a bit about your journey to getting published? Did you think of going Indie at all, or was it agent then publisher, or publisher direct?
It’s been a whirlwind of writing and publication days since March 2019, when my debut came out. There wasn’t much time to think about anything back when I was writing my debut because it just sort of happened one day in the summer of 2017. I sat down and just started writing a romance. I was compelled to do it! It just sort of poured out, and by Christmas, I had a full draft and no idea what to do with it. I hadn’t heard about agents or indie publishing (I was that clueless) and just sent my manuscript to the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writer’s Scheme for feedback which came back really quickly, and then I rewrote it following their advice and immediately sent it out to publishers who had open submissions (I just googled romance publishers and made a list) then in August 2018 Hera Books expressed an interest and that was it! I was going to have to share my book with actual readers. Gah!
I still remember reading your first book, Kiley. It was fantastic, and because it was set in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which was so close to where I grew up, I felt a real pull to read it. I am so glad I did because you are now one of my have-to-read authors!
How does that compare with your experiences, Ritu? I am in awe of your writing journey. Do you agree that the very best thing about debuting is that people are finally going to be able to read your book, and that’s also the very worst thing about it too? Ha ha!
Oh, goodness, my journey was a winding one, starting in the year 2000… Yes I am ancient, I know (and hitting 47 on Saturday, too!) I always wanted to write but didn’t know where to start. the first few chapters of what became Marriage Unarranged were written then, but the manuscript didn’t get completed until 2018! This is also the reason why my books are set in 2000 and onwards because that is when I started writing them. And I remember being in conversation with you not long after your first release when I sent it to Hera Books, but it wasn’t right for them at the time. I did try a couple of agents but ended up thinking life is too short, so I went down the self-publishing route. I found a fantastic editor, cover designer, andbeta readers, too. The release was all set for February 2020, then a certain virus hit, which meant a lot of plans I had went down the drain. However, the book got a wonderful response from readers and ended up in the hands of one of the directors of Spellbound Books. They are so keen to represent Desi (Indian origin) authors and offered me a three-book deal, including rereleasing Marriage Unarranged in June 2022. And that is where we are, right now!
I only have one book to talk about so far, but you have several now. Do you have a favourite out of the books you have written?
I know you’re not supposed to have favourites, but I definitely do. Matchmaking at Port Willow(Hera Books 2021) feels like the book where it all came together for me. I loved those characters, too, and I got to write about an older female character who was going through menopause and a mum in her early 40s having a baby after miscarriage and terrified, and a very cute guy who’d been ripped off by a catfishing scammer he’d fallen in love with. It’s a real rollercoaster of a book with lots of love and laughs and Christmas cosiness.
I really related to this one, too, I have to say, being a little older, but also having experienced miscarriages. It was very sensitively written, Kiley. Thank you for that.
Tell me about yours because you’re busy writing the follow-up to Marriage Unarranged for Spellbound Books, aren’t you? I cannot wait!!! How do your feelings for them compare? Did one prove easier or quicker to write than the other?
I have just finished the first draft of book two during the summer holidays, actually! It’s with Alpha and sensitivity readers at the moment. Marriage Unarranged was never meant to be more than that one book we all have in us, but my characters! Oh, they weren’t to be silenced! As a result, the next two books will follow two different couples we met in the first book, and I try and cover cultural issues and stigmas that are prevalent in the British Indian community. Book Two is tentatively titled Straight As A Jalebi – The road to love is never straight… and looks at sexuality… I’ll leave you to ponder that. 😁 Considering MU took me 18 years to write, three years for SasaJ isn’t too bad, is it? And I hope that book three will be even quicker! Plus, now having a publisher means that there is more of dead line though Spellbound Books have been amazing, because they know I am a teacher, too with limited free time! I will always have a special place for Marriage Unarranged because that is where we meet all the crazy characters, but I think, as you said, each book we write holds its own place, doesn’t it?
Now, I’m intrigued. Where do you like to write? Because you often post about being at the coffee shop!
I’m a coffee shop writing girl. I’ve a desk in my bedroom, but it’s just not comfy. I am very impressed with your gorgeous new writing room. It looks idyllic! Is that where you always work?
Thank you. I am very lucky with my special area. A little secret? It wasn’t meant to be my room. It was initially going to be Hubby Dearest’s ‘working-from-home’ office, but due to issues with internet access, he set himself up in the smaller room downstairs, and I got this one. I wasted no time setting it up, and now I have my own haven! I tend to do most of my writing here but sometimes bring my laptop down to the conservatory or garden, if the weather is good.
Kiley, there are so many genres out there. Why romance? Have you ever toyed with the idea of writing in a different genre?
It was always going to be romance for me. I love the genre and have since I was in my early thirties (I came late to seriously reading romances). Before I wrote my debut, I had it circulating in my brain that one day I’d tell a love story, but I was so wound up in my academic career and publishing non-fiction stuff as part of that I just didn’t have space for falling in love with romance writing. Then, in 2017 I found out I was going to be made redundant from my uni job. That changed everything.
Redundancy can offer so many chances, can’t it? I know a few people who grabbed the bull by the horns and made dreams come true when they were let loose from their day jobs!
What about you? Are you tempted to kill off a few characters or send them into space or back in time?
Oh, gosh, no! Nothing that extreme! I enjoy my Chickpea Curry Lit! But I would like to dabble in children’s picture books one day, too. That’s another dream of mine. Now, to find a decent illustrator…
Coming back to the Borrow a Bookshop series, where did the inspiration hit for this premise? I have said it to you before, but I would love to go on a holiday and borrow a bookshop, as well as enjoying a bit of baking! (Might add an Indian twist to the items served!)
Living and working in a bookshop (but with none of the financial and business worries) is The Dream! Especially if it has a cosy café too! Since writing the first book, I’ve found there are a few opportunities around the world to live and work or sleep over in bookshops, but I was just dreaming up the ideal holiday for my characters! Setting is everything in my stories. And I like writing about nerds falling in love, so where better to unite these nerds than in a bookshop?
Perfect! And where did you get the inspiration for the idyllic village of Clove Lore, where this wonderful bookshop is?
I borrowed the village’s layout from Clovelly in Devon. Have you ever been? God, it is Gorgeous! My partner took me there on a date the weekend after we first met, and I associate it with the newly-in-love feeling and summertime.
That is just so cute, to base it on a real place that has such lovely memories attached! 😍
How do you pick a setting, Ritu? Have you used places that were important to you in your real life?
So far my books are set in Birmingham, UK and various places in India. They are all locations I have been to, or where I have lived, so I can relate to them, and describe them in the best way possible for me. Birmingham will always be special. That’s where I was born.
Now, I loved the first book, The Borrow A Bookshop Holiday, with Jude and Elliot finding love in the midst of a booking mix-up. What can we expect to read about in Christmas in the Borrow a Bookshop? Will we get to meet some of our old friends from book one? It’s always lovely to know what loved characters are up to.
Only if you tell me all about your own series! Hehe! 😜
Well, in Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop, there’s a gorgeous cosy love story that looks idyllic until a massive storm hits the coast and Clove Lore suffers a huge flash flood right before Christmas. Suddenly there’s a lot more to fight for than lovers and books. There’s a whole village at risk. It’s a story about community and pulling together to recover when it seems all is lost. And all the characters from book one are back, and you’ll get two love stories and one surprise wedding for your money!
OK, now you!
Ha ha! So, the books are all centred around one family; Aashi’s family; and each subsequent book takes one of her brothers and concentrates on their lives and relationships. Book two will be about Sunny, and Book three will be about Bali and Kiran. Most of the characters people have already met in Marriage Unarranged, will be there, and a few new ones, too!
You are very naughty, Kiley. You keep on leading me astray. I could talk about my books forever but this about you!
I was lucky enough to read an arc of Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop, and I hand on heart loved it. Tell me, and our readers here, will there be any more in the series?
You’re lovely! Thank you for saying so! That makes my heart happy. Well, I haven’t told anyone, but there is a freshly inked contract on my desk, and the promise of three new Borrow a Bookshop stories between now and early 2025. There, the cat’s out the bag! Yippee! I’m having another samosa to celebrate, if you don’t mind! They’re yummy.
Three new stories? Oh wow, now. I can’t wait, and congratulations on the new contract, too!When we celebrate anything, we always say ‘mooh mittha karo‘, which means sweeten your mouth after good news, so you will need to try one of the sweets!
Thanks so much for having me over, Ritu! Let’s do it again soon! Next time we’ll be celebrating your new book. I’ll bring the snacks this time. Something Scottish, like me. Haggis, neeps and tatties, maybe?
That sounds like a plan, Kiley! What fun that was!
Peeps, you heard it here first! Kiley has THREE more Borrow a Bookshop books coming out!!!
Now, as I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Christmas At The Borrow A Bookshop, so let me share the blurb and my review.
The Blurb
With just two weeks until Christmas, everything in Clove Lore should be perfect. But the latest holidaymaker to the Borrow a Bookshop is feeling far from festive…
Icelandic ex-bookseller Magnús Sturluson might be surrounded by love stories in the Bookshop, but he’s nursing a sadness that not even fiction can fix.
When Alexandra Robinson finds herself stranded in Clove Lore, she finds a safe place to hide from heartbreak. After all, all that’s waiting for her at home is a cheater boyfriend and the memories of her parents. As Alex finds herself embraced by the quirky village community, she finds her tough exterior thawing – and as she grows closer to Magnús, she finds an equally soft heart under his gruff shell.
It seems that Clove Lore is working its magic once again – until a great flood on Christmas Eve brings devastation in its wake. It’s up to Magnús and Alex to batten down the hatches and help bring the village back together again, while also introducing the locals to the Icelandic tradition of the jólabókaflóð – Yule book flood – where families and friends gather on Christmas Eve to exchange books and read together.
But can Magnús and Alex truly rescue the ruins of the village, and salvage their Christmas spirit? Or is there another complication lurking even closer than they thought?
A totally uplifting read that will lighten the winter gloom, for fans of Jenny Colgan and Trisha Ashley. Booklovers will adore this seasonal treat!
When I finished the first book in this series, I didn’t know there would be another, and all I wanted to do was find a place like this bookshop and immediately book a holiday there! Books and baking are two of my things, you know. To know there was a second book was just too much excitement to bear, and I devoured this story revolving around another holidaymaker, Magnus, and his story, coupled with a stranger, Alex, who comes into his holiday life out of the blue with her secrets. Clove Lore is a special place (which I wish were real!), and it’s a place filled with optimism and hope. Qualities that are needed in large quantities by the residents, and certain visitors, as the story progresses. I loved how Kiley Dunbar wrote an obvious romance from the start, with no enemies to lovers or other silly obstacles. However, things couldn’t just be that simple. We, as readers, know they will be together, but after learning their backstories, we know there will be hiccups or storms. A big one, in fact! The biggest storm they have ever seen in the area threatens to uproot each and every one of the inhabitants of the village. I also liked the fact that the story wasn’t solely centred around Magnus and Alex, but that we revisited the first couple who were brought together in book one, Jules and Elliot, and that we learned more about Lady of the Manor, Minty, and her best friend Jowan, who is still mourning the loss of his wife. There is romance, yes, but that isn’t all this book is about. It’s about community and working together to bring back something you all love, I loved it, and after reading the Author’s letter to the readers at the end, I am even more excited because there will be a third book! Sqeeee!!!
These are the buy links for #christmasattheborrowabookshop
And here’s a little about Kiley and her other books.
Kiley Dunbar writes heart-warming, escapist, romantic fiction set in beautiful places.
One Winter’s Night is shortlisted for the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel Award 2021.
CHRISTMAS AT THE BORROW A BOOKSHOP COMING SOON
Take your pick from Kiley’s six novels (for author’s accompanying content/trigger warnings go to kileydunbar.co.uk):
Matchmaking at Port Willow (NEW FOR SEPT 2021) Beatrice is back in this sequel to Summer at the Highland Coral Beach, and she’s loved up and wanting other inn guests to experience the same magic she did last summer. Low-tech dating profiles, empty-nesters on a second honeymoon, and a lonely New Yorker in exile. With added puppies and Heiland Coos.
The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday (May 2021) Jude rents a tumbledown bookshop by the sea in Clove Lore, Devon, for a fortnight. When fellow bookseller-holidaymaker Elliot turns up unannounced, she discovers she’s not the only one running away from real life. Only one bed, bookselling and blossoming romance.
One Winter’s Night (September 2020) Return to Stratford-upon-Avon for a winter full of adventure, romance and family drama. Mystery, new neighbours, and a show-stopping theatrical procession. The sequel to One Summer’s Night.
Summer at the Highland Coral Beach (2020), the first in the Port Willow Bay Series, takes you on an impromptu crafting holiday in the Scottish Highlands and reminds us that after the storm comes the rainbow. Crafts, ceilidhs, coral bays and gentle recovery.
Christmas at Frozen Falls (2019) will fly you to snowy, remote Finnish Lapland over Christmas where Sylvie Magnussen is getting a second chance at love with an old flame – sexy Stellan Virtanen – the one who got away – well, he ran away actually, and Sylvie never understood why. Hot kisses in a cold climate, Northern lights and a stunning resort setting.
One Summer’s Night (2019) whisks you away on a working staycation in beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon during a sultry heatwave summer. A starting-over story, handsome actors, backstage passes, and a whole lot of drama in the Heart of England.
Last year I was introduced to the debut novel of someone who I have come to view as one of those authors whose books I will put others aside, to read as soon as I can.
Kiley Dunbar’s first book, One Summer’s Night, is a wonderful story, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, and heavily influenced by that famous bard, William Shakespeare. As I read her fourth book, One Winter’s Night, (yes, she’s got that many under her belt since last year’s release!) I realised it was also Shakey-heavy, too, so I decided to be nosy and ask all about her fascination with Shakespeare, and how much he’s influenced her writing, and life, too!
Over to you, Kiley!
I fell in love with Shakespeare’s poetry when I was fourteen and I talked my mum into buying me A Midsummer Night’s Dream, based solely on my lovestruck reaction to its gorgeous cover. I still have that book! (pictured).
That was the summer my parents dug out a small pond in the back garden of their terrace in the coal board village where I grew up. I spent hours that summer sitting by the pond trying to get to grips with the strange language and magical characters. I only understood half of what I read and it took me the whole summer to finish the play.
I was always a dreamy kid but something about the summer moon reflecting in the water and this 400-year-dead beardy English bloke had me reeling. I was a goner.
Cut to Mrs Marr’s English class a few years later and I’m head over heels for Hamlet, outraged by Othello and totalled on Twelfth Night. Thank you Mrs Marr!
In May 1999 I was writing a long letter to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford upon Avon explaining my obsession and asking if they have any summer job vacancies – and they did!
Within weeks I was living in Stratford, working as a tour-guide and seeing every single play at the RST and the Swan. I was in heaven!
And I didn’t want to leave.
So I applied to study at the Shakespeare Institute and, to my amazement, got a place – after a nerve wracking interview. I made Shakespeare-obsessed friends for life there.
A few years, and a lot of studying, later I have been fortunate enough to be able to teach my own Shakespeare courses at a uni in the North of England. Seeing the moment where it finally all made sense for my students was utterly magical!
It felt as though all my teenage summer dreams had come true. Except for one. I wanted to write love stories and comedies of my own.
In March 2019 my debut novel, a rom com, called ‘One Summer’s Night’ came out with Hera Books, inspired by my love of Shaky and (v. v. loosely) based on my first summer in Stratford all these years ago where I met my husband and we got engaged after FOUR days! I know, I’m not exactly risk averse. Now I’m looking forward to sharing the sequel to that novel. It’s called One Winter’s Night and is out on 17th September 2020 and follows the same characters and some new ones through a very romantic, dramatic winter in Shakespeare’s hometown. One of the storylines is a gender-reversed version of Love’s Labour’s Lost, one of my favourite Shakespeare plays.
I hope you love it, Kiley, x
You can download your copy of One Summer’s Night here:
A gorgeously uplifting, romantic read that will warm your heart – take a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where magic happens…
It’s autumn in beautiful Stratford-Upon-Avon and Kelsey Anderson is enjoying her new life in her adopted town. Her Shakespearean tour guide days behind her, she’s now opened her own photography studio and loved up with boyfriend Jonathan – even if a long-distance relationship is sometimes lonely.
When best friend Mirren Imrie moves down from Scotland, Kelsey is delighted to have her friend at her side – and as the nights turn colder, Mirren throws herself into dating, until she finds herself growing closer to sexy journalist, Adrian Armadale. But when Mirren uncovers a long-buried scandal while working at the local newspaper, her big scoop might throw Kelsey’s – and Jonathan’s – life upside down. Will she choose her career over her friends’ happiness?
And when Jonathan returns from America and discovers the secrets Mirren has uncovered about his family, it throws his relationship with Kelsey onto shaky ground. Can they find their way back to love, before it becomes the winter of their discontent?
A romantic, funny and feelgood read that will make you smile from ear to ear. Fans of Milly Johnson, Heidi Swain and Holly Martin will fall in love with this cosy winter read!
Thank you, so much, Kiley, for sharing your love affair with Shakespeare with us all!
And four days! Wowzer! Well, they do say, when you know, you know. 😉
As I mentioned, I was honoured to be able to read an ARC of One Winter’s Night, and it was fabulous! Here’s my review.
I happened upon Kiley Dunbar and her debut last year, and after devouring the first one, I have awaited any other releases with great anticipation, and she’s never failed to satisfy. Hearing that the characters from One Summer Night, Dunbar’s debut were getting another outing in One Winter’s Night, made my summer. I love Shakespeare, Stratford-Upon-Avon is a place we visited plenty when I was growing up, And though I’ve never been, Scotland and its. beauty has always enticed me. One day I will visit. And romance? Well, I love a bit of romance, so, having all these components in a book should be a guaranteed good read, for me, at least. And it surely was! Catching up with Kelsey Anderson, as the Scottish lass comes to grips with settling far south of her home town, in Shakespeare’s land, attempting to set up a business fuelled by her passion for photography, with no good friends or family close by, and the love of her life off acting across the Atlantic was a joy. And I loved the parallel story of Kelsey’s best friend Mirren, the newly single, Scottish journalist who’s finally had enough of the sexist world of broadsheet journalism, and finds herself swearing off men, jacking in her job, and jumping on a train to join her best friend, for a little while, as she straightens her life out. There were a whole host of new characters introduced, including the old soak, propping up the local bar, who ended up being a rather famous actor in his prime, with a hidden secret, and Blythe. Oh, I loved Blythe! Everyone needs a Blythe in their lives. An eccentric elderly woman who was a force to be reckoned with in her prime, on stage, until life threw her some huge curveballs. Blythe may be a bit of a recluse, but she has amassed a veritable smorgasbord of memorabilia and hard-learned wisdom over the years, along with the talent of distilling her own extremely strong flavoured gins. Kelsey’s unusual, initial meeting with Blythe cements a multi-generational friendship that adds another layer to an already wonderful story. So there’s love, heartbreaks, more romance, Shakespeare, family angst, and GIN! What more could a reader want? Absolutely a recommended read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Hera Books for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.
Now, I 100% recommend you get reading all of Kiley’s books, they are wonderful little nuggets of escapism!
But I Smile Anyway... 