Christina Hollis: A Cure For The Homesick Blues?

Clifton Suspension Bridge, via Pixabay

This year, I’m going back to my roots—and in more ways than one. I’ve been writing all my life, but my first published pieces were non-fiction work for local papers and national magazines. These were written in my spare time, while I was employed in a huge office in Bristol. Sat behind a desk, I

was bean-counting all day then writing at home until late at night. Once I began to get paid for my writing, I left my job in central Bristol and joined Rolls-Royce. Their offices are on the outskirts of the city. The move made commuting a lot faster and easier, as my new full-time job was closer to the country cottage on the Welsh border OH and I bought just after we got married. 

Only a couple of years later, OH suggested I give up office work and become a writer full-time. Trying to make it on my own was scary, but exciting. I’ve always been grateful to my husband for supporting me in what everybody said at the time was a reckless venture. It turned out to be the best investment he could make, and the second best thing I ever did (the best thing I ever did was to marry him).

Find out more at myBook.to/MyDreamGuy

The Romance genre has been very good to me. I’ve made loads of friends and sold a lot of books, but I’ve been so busy writing fiction, there’s been no time to do anything else. I’ve missed non-fiction work—and Bristol too, if I’m honest.

That’s why I’m so excited to be starting a new non-fiction project. Women's Lives is a series of books to be published by Pen And Sword Books next year. The release will coincide with the centenary of the successful Votes For Women campaign during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Each volume of Women's Lives is devoted to a single city in the United Kingdom. I was born only a few miles away from Bristol, in what was then the Somerset countryside so I was keen to get involved with the Pen And Sword project. My family’s strong ties with Bristol go back hundreds of years, although we’ve always preferred living in the country and “just visiting” the city—usually to find a life partner! 

I've started work on the Bristol edition of Women's Lives: Women of Bristol 1850-1950, and I’m really enjoying it. The research it needs means I’m spending a lot of time combing through archives, but there’s nothing to beat the real-life anecdotes I’m gathering from women far and wide who have stories to share. Can you contribute any information about life in the City of Bristol in the years before 1950? I’m particularly interested to hear about women who left the city for life in America, Canada and Australia. Were you or your mother a war-bride, or an evacuee sent abroad from Bristol?

Find out more at myBook.to/HisMajestysSecret

The work on Women of Bristol is absorbing, and I’m unearthing a wealth of stories. They are a mixture of the happy, the sad, and the alarming. There are one or two really tragic tales, such as the new mother desperate to soothe her constantly crying baby. Not knowing any better, she followed her landlady’s dubious advice, and ended up giving her baby a fatal dose of laudanum. We’re so lucky these days, with qualified advice for all sorts of problems at the other end of a telephone, and support groups online. 

Bristol is a fascinating place. Its women are, and always have been, tough, loyal pioneers. They give as good as they get, and they’re always looking to the future. Despite the love I still have for my almost-birthplace and its people, going back there to work makes me appreciate the peace and quiet of our cottage out here in the bluebell woods. Tottering Towers may lack the conveniences of city life, but with its wildlife and tranquility, there’s no place like home…

When she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping, Christina Hollis writes contemporary fiction starring complex men and independent women.  Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she’s sold nearly three million books worldwide. Catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter, Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at christinahollis.com

Her current release, Heart Of A Hostage, is published by The Wild Rose Press and available at myBook.to/HeartOfAHostage  worldwide.

Goals. Habit. Addiction...in a good way.

I'm going to confess, I am horrible at taking selfies.  I watch my kids take gorgeous photos of themselves and marvel. Sigh. I was out for a walk yesterday in 22 degree weather and wanted a pic of me all bundled up with the very picturesque Mercyhurst University in the background.  Well, you can see half of me bundled, and a very nice shot of the Hirt Academic building in the background.

But the good news is, despite the 1/2 selfie and cold weather, I managed to get in a four mile walk.  I'm still on my 10,000+ steps a day kick.  It's been a few years and I think it's time to admit, I'm a step-addict.  I traded my Fitbit Flex for a Fitbit Charge 2 this year.

I haven't missed my 10,000 step goal since I started January 1, 2014.  Just looked up my totals:

Totals

15,582,975 steps 6,814.95 miles

I wore my FitBit in Disney last  week and there were extra hours at the Magic Kingdom one night.  As I followed the excited kids, I glanced at my Fitbit and saw I was at 28,000 steps.  I felt this surge of excitement  myself, despite being exhausted (the family tends to keep me running at Disney...their mantra is Hurry Up, Mom!!)...I was going
to break 30,000!!  I've broken 25,000 steps, but 30,000 has been illusive. As I was tiredly basking in my breaking-my-record glow I glanced down again and...I was at zero steps.  I realized it was midnight.  Like Cinderella, the clock struck and messed up my night.  The good news is...I had a few thousand steps when I woke up the next morning.

Here's my point.  (Yes, I have one. LOL)

I set a goal in 2014...10,000 steps every day.  And some days it was tough, but I stuck to it.  I made myself walk even when I didn't feel like it.  And somewhere along the line, I didn't force myself any more.  I wanted to get out there and get those steps in.  My goals had become my habit.  And now, I've realized that my goal/habit has become an addiction.  LOL

Goals. Habit. Addiction.

That's how my writing came about.  At first I wanted to write, so I decided I had to write something—anything—every day.  Pretty soon writing was a habit.  And now, all these years later, it's an addiction.  LOL

It's no longer January, but it's never too late to make a resolution and set a goal! And when you do, I hope it becomes something you enjoy and make a permanent part of your life!

Holly

PS On Sale Today:

Just One Thing

A Day Late and a Bride Short

Friends and Readers

It’s been one of those rather special weeks.  A week when I have enjoyed the unexpected, sideline

joys of being a writer.

When I first started writing, all I focussed on was the hope of getting published.  I  wanted  a publisher to buy my story, put it into  book form and put it out on the shelves in the bookshops.  I remember I said to the Senior Editor I met on my very first trip to London to meet someone from the Mills and Boon Editorial team, ‘I just want to see my name on a book and I’ll be happy.’

Of course there’s more to it than that.  When you hope to be published you also hope that people will read your  stories. You hope that people – lots of people! – will buy  your book and read it, and enjoy it and buy the next one.  . .  You hope for readers out there in the world.  But I have to admit that I never got to thinking about those readers  - and other writers  - and that they might become friends and  maybe even part of my life.

I also never thought, back in those early days, when The Chalk Line  was first published,  that I’d get to know other writers, or that the internet, email,  Facebook,  Skype etc would make the world seem so much smaller and people so much closer and  communication so much easier.

This was bought home to me in the first couple of weeks of March as it seemed that every day brought another connection, another communication, with a friend  I had made  as a result of being a writer. Someone I would never have met up with, or even communicated with  if it hadn’t been for this unique job I have.  

March has the birthdays of a couple of  friends – Irish author,  Abby Green  has her special day on March 3^rd , and then  Tote Bags ‘N’ Blogs  own Lee  has her birthday a day later – on the 4^th.   Next up was a special visit from a  dear friend  from ‘across the pond’ as  AnneMcAllister was always described in the past when my  cat Sid and she were great friends. This time Anne came to stay for a few days while she’s in England researching  a new book in  a quartet for Tule that she’s 

writing.   Sadly, Sid the Cat is no longer with us but she had two new felines to get to know – Ruby the black and white rescue cat is always friendly and welcoming, but unexpectedly Charlie the Maine Coon, who is usually rather stand-offish – decided to become her best friend. This can be a double-edged privilege as  Charlie is a very large cat  - and when he decides to sit on your knee . . .well, look  at the photo of him and Anne together!

Another  friend this week let me know that she is embarking on a big adventure later in the year. Rachael Thomas, who was once one of my students at the  Writers’ Holiday Fishguard course and is now multi-published in her own right, has signed up to  walk the great wall of China 

forcharity.   Go for it Rachael – I’m so happy to support her in this.

And talking of courses, I have another one coming up in Cirencester in April – and then a get together  for my birthday in May with some one of the students who have become ‘regulars’ on my courses and are affectionately known as Walkers  Stalkers. When I first started writing, I never even dreamed of doing any teaching but now  I meet up with ‘stalkers’ regularly  - and   their company is another joy I never expected to receive as a result of my writing.

Then there are so many people, more widely flung, sometimes known, sometimes never ever met in any way -  the hundreds, thousands of readers who have bought and enjoyed my books  so that I can continue to write more for your enjoyment. I have had a lot of emails since the publication of Indebted to Moreno  and recently one of these was a reader who has been in touch with me since way back when.  15 years or more I think.  I love it when readers get in touch with me – and just lately  people have been asking just when my next book is coming up.  So I’m happy to be able to say that  this new story – current working title is Claimed by The Corsican – will be out in February 2018/ I know, it’s a

long time to wait, but in the meantime I have to get on with and complete the second part of the duet. These two linked books I’ve called The Scandalous O’Sullivan Sisters  - the first one is  Imogen’s story and now I’m at work on her  sister, Ciara’s romance. I need to get it finished so that they can come out close together.

So while I’m thinking about all these wonderful friends and readers I’ve gained as a result of being a writer – I just wanted to say  a great big thank you to all my friends and readers out there, wherever you are in the world. I value you all and appreciate  your support and  the lovely emails you send me.  After all, that’s why a writer writes-  to be read and the sales of the books means I can keep going, write some more romances – so I couldn’t do it without you!

Thank you to all my friends and my readers (and Student Stalkers!)   Wherever you are,   I’m so glad you’re there.

You can keep up to date with all my news on my web site blog page  or my Facebook page  which is where you can also find details of my courses with    Writers' Holiday  or Relax and Write

Carole Mortimer: Happy Spring!

Hi, Everyone,

I’m currently on the island of Majorca, taking a much-needed holiday after a very busy winter. It isn’t hot on the island yet, but all of my favorite restaurants are now open again, so no cooking for me for three weeks. I’ll still be writing, of course, and will be starting on Seducing Ethan, the 7^th and last book in the Knight Security series. The pre-order for this ebook will be available at the end of March, with a publication date of May 26^th.

March 31^st is publication day for Enticing Ian (Knight Security 5). My editor tells me this is the best book in the series so far! I have to say I really enjoyed writing Ian and Evie’s story. Evie needs Ian to help save her brother, but it isn’t easy convincing Ian of that. The two of them knew each other three years before this story takes place, so this is a love revisited. Will they stay together this time or will the past tear them apart?

  

As promised the pre-order for the first book in my new Regency Sinners series, Wicked Torment, is now available, and the ebook will be released April 28^th. The heroes in each of this eight book series are linked through friendship from their schooldays and years spent together in the army. There is a mystery linking all eight books which I hope you will find as intriguing as I do.

The stories in my Regency Unlaced, Regency Sinners, Knight Security and Alpha series, are more explicit in their language and sexual content than my other books. In other words, they’re hot, so you have been warned!

Happy Spring!

Carole xx

Amazon pre-order link for Enticing Ian (Knight Security 5)

This ebook is also available on B&N, iBooks, Kobo, & Smashwords

Amazon pre-order link for Wicked Torment (Regency Sinners 1)

This ebook is also available on B&N, iBooks, Kobo, & Smashwords.

Website: www.carolemortimer.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CaroleMortimerAuthor

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carole_mortimer

Newsletter: www.eepurl.com/2rfzz

Carole Mortimer has written over 220 books in the contemporary and Regency romance genres. She is 2015 Recipient of the prestigious Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award. A USA Today Bestselling Author. Entertainment Weekly Top 10 Romance Author—ever. 2014 Romantic Times Pioneer of Romance. In 2012 Carole was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II for her ‘outstanding service to literature’.

She is very happily married to Peter, they have 6 sons, and live on the beautiful Isle of Man.

Donna Alward: The Purple Pig Café Black Bean Brownies

This month the second book in my Darling, VT trilogy, SOMEONE TO LOVE, hits the shelves. I loved writing this one…from the yoga and meditation to all the yummy food that my heroine, Willow Dunaway, cooks up in her café. The Purple Pig Café is pretty popular on Darling’s Main Street, and early on in the book the hero, Ethan, gets stuck with having to try a black bean brownie. You see, The Purple Pig uses locally sourced, organic ingredients, and emphasizes Fair Trade policies.

I had to do some searching around for a good Black Bean Brownie recipe, and of course I had to try it out first! I found this one on Pinterest: http://hip2save.com/2014/03/07/black-bean-brownies/ and pinned it to my Darling, VT series board.

I had a blast coming up with menu items for the café, many based on some of my favorite foods. One of my daughters is a vegetarian, so I’ve learned to cook (and enjoy) a lot of different foods, particularly those made from legumes. The bean salad in the book is a fave, and I also learned to make black bean burgers, homemade falafel, and lentil curry.

Here’s a snippet from SOMEONE TO LOVE:

His chest tightened in a strange way, but Ronan was tugging on his hand, anxious to get to the glass display case. Willow smiled—a small, sweet smile—and the tightness squeezed.

What the heck was that about?

“Well, hello,” she said as they approached the counter. “What a nice surprise.”

Ethan tried to smile, but his face felt tight as he looked at her. She looked so relaxed and comfortable and pleasant. It was damned intimidating. Other than his sisters, he’d avoided conversations with the women of Darling since Lisa died. He’d quickly learned that they either ended up looking sad and pitying, or worse, prospective. He was definitely out of practice in the art of everyday conversation.

“The boys had their pick of a treat today. They wanted to come here.”

He realized he’d put it all on the boys, making it sound like he would have rather gone somewhere else. Which was, well, the truth, but he could have been more tactful. Tact wasn’t exactly his finest skill.

But Willow didn’t seem to even notice. Instead she looked over the counter at the boys. “You did? Awesome! Why don’t you come back here and pick a treat?” She looked up at Ethan. “Any allergies to be aware of?”

“No,” he answered. “Though Connor isn’t fond of raisins.”

“What?” She raised her eyebrows and looked at Connor. “But raisins are delicious! And full of good stuff. I think they’re nature’s candy.”

Ethan tried not to roll his eyes.

“I like them in cookies,” Connor admitted.

“Oh, well then. That’s okay.” Willow grinned. She turned her head and Ethan saw the nose ring wink in the light, and the pink stripe that ran along the side of her head since her hair was pulled back in a braid. She looked about twenty.

She moved to the end of the counter and waved them in. “Come on, boys. You can come back here and pick something out. It’ll be our secret.”

Ethan had to admit, his boys seemed smitten. And she was genuinely nice, that was clear. Too nice, maybe. Or maybe he was just a big old crab. Thinking it just made him crabbier.

He stood back and watched as the boys picked a sweet from the refrigerated display. Willow got them each a little plate and when they came back around he saw that Ronan had a huge chocolate chip cookie and Connor had two plates. One held a square of blueberry cake and the other a fudgy looking brownie with thick icing on the top.

He remembered what Connor had said about the beans and hoped to God that the blueberry cake was for him.

“Daddy, look! I got you a brownie cuz chocolate’s your favorite.”

Shoot. “Gee, thanks Connor.”

Connor beamed up at him.

Ethan reached for his wallet. “Boys, why don’t you go find a table and I’ll be right over with something to drink.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

He looked at Willow. She seemed far too pleased with herself, as if she could read his mind. Right then and there he determined that he’d eat every bit of that brownie if it killed him.

“Milk,” he said quietly. “A glass of milk for each of them, if I could.”

“And for you? Did you want a coffee or tea, Ethan?”

He focused on pulling bills out of his wallet. “A coffee with milk, please.”

When she told him the tally, his jaw nearly dropped and his head came up. “How much did you say?”

It was the better part of twenty dollars. He supposed because they were a specialty market, they could charge through the nose. He added a five to the bills he’d already taken out and handed them over. “Thanks,” he said.

“I’ll bring your drinks out. You go sit with the boys.”

He nodded and went to the table, where Connor and Ronan were already munching on their food. It surprised him that Connor had gone for the blueberry cake, instead of the cookie he’d been talking about. His boy was growing up . . . too fast.

He was poised to take his first bite of brownie when Willow came out with a tray of drinks. She put two small glasses of milk before the boys, and carefully set Ethan’s coffee in front of him. “So, how is it? Do you like the carob chips, Ronan?”

His mouth was full so he nodded, his brown eyes sparkling. She laughed lightly and looked at Connor.

“Good cake.” He waved with his fork. “Almost as good as my mommy’s.”

Ethan froze. Connor had been Ronan’s age when Lisa died. How could he possibly remember what his mother’s cake had been like? Was he making it up? Pretending? Trying to hold on to fading memories or creating his own reality? Funny how a simple observation made Ethan question whether he’d paid enough attention to his son’s grieving process.

More than that, though, the simple words had brought forth a memory. Blueberry cake had been Lisa’s favorite, usually with a warm, lemony sauce for the top, and she asked for it every August for her birthday.

There would be no more birthdays.

“Are you okay, Ethan?” Willow’s voice was soft and her hand touched his shoulder.

He swallowed tightly. “Sorry, yes, I’m fine. Just getting ready to dig into this brownie.” He forced the memory away and picked up his fork.

“Are you sure?” She squeezed lightly, and his throat tightened.

“I’m sure.” To prove it, he valiantly stabbed the brownie with his fork and guided the piece to his mouth. He would eat it. He would pretend to like it, the boys would finish their snack, and they’d go to the playground as planned.

He put it in his mouth, steeling himself against the taste, determined not to show his dislike, and then he stopped in surprise.

It was delicious. Really, really delicious.

He looked up at her. “This is beans?”

She grinned. “Yessir. Black beans, and organic cocoa, free-range eggs . . .”

“It’s moist. And rich.”

“You’re surprised.”

“Well, yeah.”

She smiled at him, a big smile that seemed to warm the whole room. He found himself smiling back. The boys continued to eat, totally unconcerned, but for Ethan it seemed like an important moment. He didn’t like being bad-tempered. It wasn’t who he was, deep down. She’d prompted an honest-to-goodness smile from him, and it felt awesome.

“Did you think all ‘healthy’ food was tasteless and dry?” Her lips twitched.

“Well . . .” He chuckled. “Hannah always raves about the food here. I should have had more faith, maybe.”

SOMEONE TO LOVE is OUT NOW! “The latest offering the Darling Vermont series is an emotionally poignant, can’t-put-it-down, opposites-attract tearjerker. A true treasure from page one to the beautiful, touching ending. Alward’s witty dialogue drives this powerful tale, but it’s her little boy costars and her paradoxical, damaged hero and heroine that make hearts sing and rule every page of this sweet and steamy love story.” – RT BOOK REVIEWS – TOP PICK!

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Kobo / BAM / Chapters

Sea side stories — Kandy Shepherd

There’s a stretch of the New South Wales (Australia) coastline, about 250 km south of Sydney, that is special to me. Not just because it’s a beautiful place with glorious beaches, expanses of natural bushland and quaint small towns, but also because it’s the inspiration for my fictional town of Dolphin Bay and its surrounds.

Ulladulla Harbour on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia

 Dolphin Bay was the setting for my first three books for Harlequin Romance and they have recently been published as a Dolphin Bay collection entitled Heart of the Bay. It was exciting to see my three linked but self-contained stories put together in one big “beach read”. And quite the coincidence that the cover model looks rather like my daughter!

I just returned from a short visit to the area, and realised I hadn’t actually been there since my first Dolphin Bay book The Summer They Never Forgot was published. It felt kind of surreal to see again areas which had been my inspiration, that I had then twisted and turned and embellished to become fictional places for my stories. The settings in my head had become more real that the places that inspired them!

The beach at Mollymook, again on the New South Wales South Coast

 The imaginary settings were top of mind because my May release for Harlequin Romance, Conveniently Wed to the Greek, starts off in Dolphin Bay. It tells the story of food blogger Dell Hudson, one of the supporting characters in the third Dolphin Bay book, A Diamond in Her Stocking. I’d really liked Dell and it was great fun to get reacquainted and to give her own story and—gorgeous man of course!

While my new story opens in Dolphin Bay, by Chapter Five it has moved to Greece, when Dell accepts a job with her former adversary, the hotelier Alex Mikhalis. Again I was heavily inspired by real-life locations for this story, in particular the beautiful islands of the Ionian Sea in northern Greece.

The beautiful islands of the Ionian sea in Greece: wonderful inspiration!

I visited there for the first time in 2015, loved it, and immediately knew I wanted to set a book there. I actually wrote the final chapters of the book while on vacation (writers never really rest!) in Greece last year.

Inspiration for settings for Conveniently Wed to the Greek

 Here’s the blurb for Conveniently Wed to the Greek:

A marriage for the sake of her baby...

When luxury hotelier Alex Mikhalis encounters the blogger who once nearly destroyed his reputation, he wants to get even. Only Adele Hudson isn’t exactly as he remembers. She’s pregnant and alone, and he can’t stop his protective instincts kicking in!

After a difficult breakup, Adele is very wary of all relationships. She has no choice but to accept the Greek tycoon’s offer of a job, despite their complicated past. But his next suggestion is much more intimate: becoming his convenient wife!

Conveniently Wed to the Greek will be published by Harlequin Romance in May 2017.

Like Dolphin Bay, my Greek island setting takes me again to the sea, a place I like to visit in real life as well as in fiction. Do you have a favorite place, country, town for a novel? Or one you don’t care for so much? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of Conveniently Wed to the Greek.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram