Out of Sight, Out of Mind by Evonne Wareham - Guest Post

A big thank you to Brook Cottage Books for inviting me here today, helping me to celebrate my second novel making the final of the Maggie Award for Excellence.

 Probably the best phone call or e-mail a writer can receive – after the one from a publisher who wants to publish your book – is one to say that  it has made the grade in a competition.  In this case it was a little while coming as the finalists were published and my book was not among them – but then I got that all important e-mail. There had been a glitch in the scoring and I was on the list after all! It’s a wonderful feeling to know that readers  - librarians and booksellers -  liked your book enough to put it in the final of a contest like the Maggie Award.

What is the Maggie? It’s the annual contest of the Georgia Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. It’s been going for over 30 years and is highly respected in the world of romance writing in the US. It’s exciting and a great honour, as a Welsh author, to be chosen as a finalist.

And the book? It’s called Out of Sight Out of Mind. It’s what is known in the US as a romantic suspense – a romantic thriller in the UK - with a paranormal twist. Not vampires and werewolves, but a heroine who can read minds and a hero who has an unexpected connection to her, through her work. It’s set in London, where I used to live, and in Wales, where I live now. Some of the scenes in Wales are real places, some are imagined ones – that’s is one of the beauties of being a writer – you get to invent your perfect beach, your perfect seaside cottage and your perfect hero – and the reader is free too, to put their favourite beach, cottage, hero, into the picture. Actually, Jay, the hero of the book is not exactly perfect – he has some very dark things in his past and meeting him draws Madison, my heroine, into danger. And that’s why it’s called romantic suspense …

The contest winner will be announced at the Moonlight and Magnolias convention on 11^th October. I’d love to be there, but Georgia is long way to travel from Wales! Maybe one day I’ll make it, as the convention sounds like great fun.

Will I win? Of course I hope so, but if I don’t, the experience of being a finalist has been a huge thrill. I’m grateful to the judges who chose me and the organisers who made the contest happen.

And of course thanks to JB/Debbie for inviting me here to Brook Cottage Books to share the excitement and tell you about Out of Sight Out of Mind.

Out of Sight Out of Mind – published by Choclit

Amazon UK

Amazon US

www.evonnewareham.com

http://evonneonwednesday.blogspot.com

Twitter @evonnewareham

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Dispatches from the Dating Zone by K.T Valentine - Guest Post

Just like most writers, writing has been my passion for as long as I can remember. From short stories as a child to songs performed in school plays. One way or another I’ve always written.

However, my tale is not one of an overnight success but rather one of a slow burner! It wasn’t until I was a 25 years old and in the very early stages of pregnancy that I decided I might be good enough at writing to finally give into the little voice in my head, the one that had been telling me for years to put the book that I’d been mentally drafting, down on paper. I was a third of the way through when, unfortunately, life decided it had other ideas. Very much out of the blue and barely a few weeks after giving birth, I found myself facing the road ahead as a single mum and in the process of getting divorced. Needless to say, I didn’t write again for years.

Thankfully, after turning my life around and spurred on by my family and young son, I finally put pen to paper again and ‘Dispatches from the dating zone’ was born.

 I’d love to say that when I’m not writing, I’m living the glamorous and over-the-top life of a W.A.G here in Cheshire…but in reality I’m pretty much your average 36 year old, one with too many wobbly bits and a penchant for white wine and chocolate.

Book Blurb

Having exhausted all the conventional ways to meet her ‘Mr Right’ (and because now she really is a little bit desperate), Fleur Summers turns to her well-meaning, but eccentric friends and family for help.

From ‘Man Mountain’; an engineer who eats everything in sight and tall dark handsome Tom with big hands but no idea how to use them, to the mysterious and brooding Henry Austin. Follow the trials and tribulations of Fleur’s journey as she works her way through a number of eventful blind dates, all in the name of finding true love.

Dispatches from the Dating Zone is the racy romantic comedy debut novel from KT Valentine

 Amazon.co.uk

Twitter: @TheKT_Valentine

Facebook: KT Valentine

Official Website: http://ktvalentine.com/ (The first 3 chapters can be downloaded for free on my website)

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Squaring Circles by Carolyn Mathews - A review

BOOK BLURB

Squaring Circles blurb:  Free spirit Pandora is shaken by the sudden death of her mother and the presence of a mysterious stranger at the funeral. When her mother’s grave is disturbed, she turns detective and finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue, centering round a devious couple’s plot to exploit a healing circle for their own ends. Her partner Jay’s collaboration with a sexy singer and her own encounter with an old flame add to the confusion. Will she succeed in her quest to restore equilibrium to her family circle or will the decisions she and Jay make set them up for more heartache?

My Review

Carolyn Mathews has created an array of interesting and quirky characters in this book and they have made me want to go away and read the first book in the series, Transforming Pandora. Although not necessary as I think it could be read as a standalone novel, some of the background to the story might be useful to some readers, although there is a list of the main characters at the beginning of the book. But, I think it would be interesting to have read Pandora's journey from the very beginning.

Squaring Circles could be described as a mystical thriller. It has romance, it has secrets, it has mystery and it has a sprinkling of magic in it. The main character Pandora seems to be pulled in many different directions and tries so hard to please everyone and look after them and sometimes neglects her own wants and wishes. Her spiritual guide Enoch isn't offering her too much guidance when she needs it and she has her deceased mother whispering criticism and advice in her ear, so its no wonder she feels overwhelmed. I love the sexy relationship she has with her husband Jay, and whilst things aren't altogether rosie in that garden, their love and desire for one another is evident. I liked this book. It was something different and interesting subject matter which I'd like to find out more about. Carolyn Mathews manages to inject just the right amount of humour into the story at just the right times and I love the hippy / new age community the book is centred around.

 Bio: 

Carolyn Mathews' English Language writing and teaching career included a stint with a class of 'Harry Potter' extras at the local Warner Bros. studio, Hertfordshire. With so much magic in the air, it's no wonder she now writes fiction with more than a hint of the supernatural.

Buy Links

Paperback

Author Links

http://carolynmathews.co.uk

facebook    

twitter        

   

If anyone wants an autographed copy they can email Carol. The address is on the contact page of her website.

Carolyn Mathews

Join the promo party event for this book! 

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Squaring Circles by Carolyn Mathews - Promo

Brook Cottage Books is thrilled to be coordinating the promo blitz party for Squaring Circles by Carolyn Mathews. The party which kicks off tomorrow (27th) at 9am will be a day of bookish fun with reviews, author interviews and guest posts. Join us there. You are all invited to the fab Facebook Event. Lets find out a little bit more about what the book is all about.

Squaring Circles blurb: 

 Free spirit Pandora is shaken by the sudden death of her mother and the presence of a mysterious stranger at the funeral. When her mother’s grave is disturbed, she turns detective and finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue, centring round a devious couple’s plot to exploit a healing circle for their own ends. Her partner Jay’s collaboration with a sexy singer and her own encounter with an old flame add to the confusion. Will she succeed in her quest to restore equilibrium to her family circle or will the decisions she and Jay make set them up for more heartache?

 Bio

 Carolyn Mathews' English Language writing and teaching career included a stint with a class of 'Harry Potter' extras at the local Warner Bros. studio, Hertfordshire. With so much magic in the air, it's no wonder she now writes fiction with more than a hint of the supernatural.

Buy Links

Paperback

Author Links

http://carolynmathews.co.uk

facebook    

twitter        

   

If anyone wants an autographed copy they can email Carol. The address is on the contact page of her website.

Carolyn Mathews

Read More