Guest Author - Eleanor Moran

Today I have the honour and pleasure of introducing you all to Eleanor Moran - Author of Breakfast in Bed

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Sphere (21 July 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-0751545494

Photos courtesy of Publisher

1. Please tell us a little about yourself

I’m an executive producer for drama at the BBC, and have worked on heaps of shows from Being Human to Enid, a single film about Enid Blyton starring Helena Bonham Carter. It’s been a real struggle to juggle the writing with such a busy job, and I’ve written great chunks of my 3 books on trains, rushing to set in Cardiff, or early in the morning when I’d much rather press the snooze button. I’ve always lived in North London, bar a brief three years in Brighton for university, but I’m soon to leave the BBC after a decade, and spend 3 months in LA finishing book 4 and writing my first script. I’m terrified but excited. 

2. Where did the idea for Breakfast in Bed come from?

All my books come out of a romantic dilemma or phenomenon that I see happening around me. My first book, Stick or Twist, came out of my own dilemma about whether or not to get married to my long term boyfriend. Breakfast In Bed’s heroine is 31 year old Amber, a sous chef in a busy restaurant kitchen and recent divorcee. I turned round in my mid 30s and realized that of my 6 closest girlfriends, 4 of them were already divorced. I was fascinated by how it feels to be ending that chapter at the time when you would hope it was just beginning.

 

3. What would be on your breakfast in bed tray, and who would you like to be delivering it?

Ooh, well partly I’d like it to be Nancy Mitford so she could tell me outrageous stories about her and her sisters but if we’re going to get romantic about it, I wouldn’t kick Bradley Cooper out for dropping crumbs on the sheets! I’d like him to make me French toast with maple syrup and a side of blueberries, even though it’s about the most fattening breakfast there is (other than an Egg McMuffin).

4.  What are you working on next?

I’m writing a very emotional story at the moment, about a girl who is estranged from her best friend and then receives the shocking news she’s died in a car crash. As her feelings gradually develop for Sally’s widower, she must try and come to terms with the looming shadow cast by her death.

5.  What book/s are on your bedside table?

At the moment I’m reading Skippy Dies, which I absolutely love. It’s set around an Irish boys boarding school, and it manages to be funny and tragic all at the same time. It’s the width of a doorstep so the pile beside it gets ever larger. I also loved A Visit From the Goon Squad, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and I recently re-read Heartburn, Nora Ephron’s acerbic, hilarious account of her marriage breakdown. The woman’s a genius (When Harry Met Sally is my favourite film). I absolutely adored Jo Jo Moyes’ latest, The Last Letter from Your Lover which was wonderfully romantic without being schlocky.  

Many thanks  Eleanor for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.

Good luck in LA!

You can find out more about Eleanor here

Facebook page here

DizzyC

Breakfast in Bed - Eleanor Moran UK Giveaway

The lovely people at Little, Brown have generously offered 2 copies of Breakfast in Bed by Eleanor Moran to lucky winners (UK addresses only)

I have decided to give entry forms a go. So please bear with me if this is not working 100%.
I don't feel comfortable with folks leaving email addresses so hopefully this will work better.

Please fill in the form and then leave a comment to let me know you have entered the giveaway.

Many thanks and good luck!

Ends 7/10/11
UK Addresses only
Please see giveaway policy.

Mother nature is confused!

Phew!  I am sitting here in a Summer dress and wondering how to keep cool.  

 Yes, I am at home in the UK and yes, it is the last few days of September!

We are enjoying an Indian Summer.  It is 28 degrees today and expected to stay that way into the weekend.   The weather folk are predicting SNOW for October.  The weather has gone mad.  

Mother Nature knows that this is Autumn, as the trees are changing colours, shedding leaves and the conkers are on the ground, BUT horticulturists are noticing that some flowering shrubs that normally flower in April, and did so this year, are flowering for a 2nd time now.  That is 6 - 8 months early.

Read the full story here - BBC news

DizzyC  

My baby is all growed up!

My youngest, AJ is a big boy today.  He is 4 years old!

Daddy and AJ (1 hour old)

4 years ago today AJ was in no hurry to make an appearance.  He was 10 days late and needed  rocket fuel to get him to budge.  I was induced, as I had started labour and broke my waters on the 25th, so the clock was ticking and AJ had a train to catch!
Nice easy labour of just over 3 hours!  :)


Happy Birthday, AJ!


Carol

Review - Persuade Me - Juliet Archer

• Publisher: Choc Lit (15 Sep 2011)
• ISBN-10: 1906931216
• ISBN-13: 978-1906931216

The Blurb

When do you let your heart rule your head?

When it comes to love, Anna Elliot is stuck in the past.  No one can compare to Rick Wentworth, the man she gave up ten years ago at the insistence of her disapproving family.  What is she's missed her only chance for real happiness?

This contemporary re-telling of Jane Austen's last completed novel is the second book in Juliet Archer's  Darcy & Friends series, offering fresh insights into the hearts and minds of Austen's irresistible heroes.

Now, I have a confession, between you and me, I have not read Jane Austen's novels, but from what I understand Juliet Archer stays true to the characters and plot of Persuasion.  I also understand that you do not need to know the Jane Austen novel to enjoy this re-telling of the classic.


I fell in love with this story from page one.  The idea of Anna still in love with a summer affair she had ten years ago with the gorgeous Rick.  


Anna, lecturer, gave up love at the request of her family.  Now lives alone in a top floor flat wondering what could have been with Rick.  


Rick has moved on in location and relationship stakes.  He is now Dr Rick Wentworth, Celebrity scientist, living in Australia,  with a model girlfriend to keep him company.  He is not short of admiring fans.


Fate brings Rick and Anna back together when Rick tours England to promote his book and visit his sister, who happens to live nearby.  Their paths were meant to cross.


There is a fabulous cast of characters including Anna's eccentric father,  Sir Walter, with his obsession with mirrors and  his 'youthfulness', and his other daughters, Lisa and Mona, Mona's husband Charles and the in-laws the Musgrove's and Rick's family.


There were times I wanted to shake Rick and Anna for not ceasing the moment or for not speaking up when they had the chance.  There is a lot of surmising going on between these two characters and if only they would communictate. 


Sometimes it felt like the story was slipping into the past with Sir Walter's antiquated views and mannerisms.  He is quite a character.   


I really enjoyed getting to know all these characters and discovering the connections between the families.  A romantic modern day tale.




I am putting Juliet's other novel on my TBR list along with Jane Austen's Persuasion. 

4.5 out of 5 for me!



Find out more about Juliet Archer  here

Thank you ChocLit for sending me a review copy

We have winners!

Congratulations to the 5 winners of a copy of (un)like a Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes...................

Jo

Sophia

Nel

Shazjera

Holly

There will be another great giveaway on Friday!

DizzyC

Festival of Romance and Shortlist for Awards

The website, Festival of Romance, celebrates International Romantic Fiction bringing together authors and readers.


There is a convention happening on 21st and 22nd October 2011 at Hunton Park, Nr Watford, Herts, UK


Some of the highlights scheduled are

Carole Matthews celebrity author interview

Book fair, panels, debates and reading group

Meet authors and fans from around the world

Competitions and quizzes

Writing workshop with Sue Moorcroft

Learn from the experts how to write romance

Chocolate tasting with Choc Lit

Meet the Mills and Boon editors

Win a publishing contract with Xcite Books

Fashion show, Book Awards and Ball

New Talent Award for unpublished writers

Judges: Donna Condon, senior editor at Piatkus 

and Jane Judd, literary agent


*************


The shortlist for their awards have just announced today!

Shortlists for Brand New Romantic Fiction Awards Announced

26 September 2011. The Festival of Romance is delighted to announce the shortlists for the inaugural Romance Reader Awards. Some seven publishers are represented on the shortlists, with a hat trick for independent publisher Choc Lit.

For the Total-E-Bound Best Romantic Read Award:

Juliet Archer - Persuade Me (Choc Lit)

Fiona Harper - Swept off her Stilettos (Mills & Boon, Riva)

Carole Matthews - Wrapped up in You (Sphere)

Sue Moorcroft - Love and Freedom (Choc Lit)

Talli Roland - The Hating Game (Prospera Publishing)

For the Choc Lit Best Historical Read Award:

Charlotte Betts - The Apothecary's Daughter (Piatkus)

Annie Burrows - Captain Corcoran's Hoyden Bride (Mills & Boon, Historical Regency)

Christina Courtenay - The Scarlet Kimono (Choc Lit)

Jean Fullerton - Perhaps Tomorrow (Orion)

Jan Jones - The Kydd Inheritance (Robert Hale)

  Check out the website and find out more details   at   Festival of Romance


DizzyC

Guest Author - Eloisa James

Today I have the honour and pleasure of introducing Eloisa James, Author of A Kiss at Midnight.  


I was very surprised to find out which time period Eloisa would like to drop into. It was also interesting to hear about how one of her latest characters is not behaving for her. :)

Photos courtesy of Publisher

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus Books (4 Aug 2011)
• ISBN-13: 978-0749956912

1.  A Kiss at Midnight is a very entertaining fairytale written especially for adults. What made you decide to re-write fairytales for adults?

My father, the poet Robert Bly, was always fascinated by fairy tales, and finally wrote the book Iron John, a rewriting of that tale, so in a sense it’s a family business. I wouldn’t say that my inspiration comes as much from Iron John itself, as from the fact that while Dad was working out the ideas behind the book he talked compulsively about fairy stories.  He loved to challenge my siblings and me to “explain” such stories in cultural terms—to rewrite them in a way that made them socially relevant.

2. If you could drop into any period in time, where and when would you like to land?

I’d like to go the future.  While I’m fascinated by the past (witness my job as a Shakespearean, not to mention all the historical novels), I spent a certain amount of time dreaming—sometimes fearfully—about what the world will be like when my children are my age.  I hope Earth is a livable, happy place.  I expect that technology will be in place that I can’t even imagine.  I would dearly love to see that.

3.  Where is your favourite place to write?

I’m a professor of English literature (teaching Shakespeare), so I write the bulk of my novels during the summer.  My husband is Italian, and this summer we rented a little converted stable in Tuscany, in the middle of the vineyards.  It was on top of a hill, and utterly silent except for sounds of farm work and birds.  Writing in those surroundings is an absolute pleasure.  

4.  What are you working on next?

At the moment I’m finishing a version of the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling.  The book has caused me unexpected problems—although my Ugly Duchess is a darling and very funny, my hero decided to be a pirate and for a while it looked as if he wasn’t coming back to England at all.  I might as well add that before I was a writer, I found it very irritating when authors talked about their characters as if they were real people.  Now I realize why: because we structure their inner selves, if we’ve made even the smallest mistake in that early work, “they” don’t want to do what we have decided they should—at least until the aspect of their personality making the action unlikely is edited.  I had to change my duke’s childhood memories or he would have stayed on the ocean forever, skylarking in The Poppy, his pirate ship.  My website, www.eloisajames.com, has a great deal of information about each of my books, including some advance chatter about this one.

5.  What book/s is/are on your bedside table? 

I just finished The Help, which offers a fascinating look at a part of America’s history I really knew very little about, having grown up in Minnesota, far from the South.  At the moment I am reading a medley of books, all at once.  My daughter and I are reading aloud from a book that will be published in the US in October.  It’s a terrific young adult novel, written by an Englishman now living here:  Andrew Hartley’s Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact.  I highly recommend it to anyone with a YA reader in the household; we’re loving it.  I’m also reading Thea Harrison’s Serpent’s Kiss, a new paranormal romance in a series that I absolutely adore.  And finally, I’m reading an older book, Kingsley Amis’s The King’s English and much enjoying his scourge of “lazy and ignorant writers.”  I’m trying to avoid that grim fate.  I generally share all my reading adventures on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/eloisajamesfans, and invite all readers to drop by and share what they’re reading!

Thank you, Eloisa for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions.   

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James is published by Piatkus (paperback, £7.99)

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James was published on the 1^st September 2011 by Piatkus (paperback, £7.99)

Dizzy chat

I have noticed over the last few weeks that I am so busy I have not been taking part in meme's (except for BBAW which was one reason I was so busy) and so the blog has just been reviews, and guest posts and hardly any chat.

My partner was the one who first called me Dizzy and the name stuck. 
I often start a conversation in my head and then suddenly carry the conversation on with whoever is within earshot, expecting them to pick up on the conversation thread.   


My partner has a look when this happens, as if to say "you are doing it again, I missed the first part of the conversation in your head!"


This morning he got "so, how do they know they can assign a particular ISBN number and how many combinations are available with a 13 digit ISBN?"  


I still have to find the answers to the above questions.  :)

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For those of you who do like to keep up with my blog, thank you, I now have a facebook page.  This will have links to all posts here but also little snippets of book related info, competitions, and news I find on my travels in cyberspace.  


If you have Facebook, (what is FB on at the moment, too many food additives or something, it is very hyperactive at the moment), please follow the link below and 'like'

Facebook page

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I have several exciting guest author spots coming up over the next couple of months.  There is a It's a date section on the left hand side bar.

Guest authors including Eloisa James, Trisha Ashley, Eleanor Moran, Shari Low, Carole Matthews and Mandy Baggot.  I will be getting a reputation as a name dropper!

Real life is making me very Dizzy at the moment.  I have the eldest C at 6th Form College and comes in and out at strange times of the day.  

M has started his GCSE courses, so still in full time ed and I know where he is during the week.

AJ has increased his time a playschool.  Well, this morning I forgot his drink. Not a problem because I left his drink bottle at school last week, so I begged some squash from playschool.  Out of one problem came the solution to the next.   Tuesday was his full day at playschool.  I had to ring to find out the time for end of the day!

So, these days, I am not sure which day I am on, where my children are, who is in for dinner, who is in to sleep, and they wonder why I am Dizzy!

So, how is your week going?

DizzyC

Review - The Froobles

The Froobles - Top That! Publishing

The Froobles. The brand will launch with 12 printed titles that will be published in September.
The vocal talents of Johnny Vaughan, Denise van Outen, Edith Bowman and Reggie Yates will appear within the animated story sections of the iPhone, iPad and Android Apps, bringing the antics of The Froobles to life.


The Froobles are unique characters that have been brought to life by the magic of children's imaginations. Scenes created by playgroup children provide The Froobles with an ever-changing world in which they have fun adventures while learning valuable lessons along the way.

They have their own interactive website with games to play too.

There are 12 books in the series. Each story has an exciting adventure to share with your child.
The stories are 32 pages long, which is ideal for bedtime, in language appropriate for young children whilst teaching them valuable life lessons.

In Cory Cucumber and the farmyard muddle, Cory learns how to admit his mistakes and get help.

In Ozzy Onion and the noisy dinosaurs, Ozzy and the dinosaurs learn how to play together nicely.

I loved the full page pictures which are a mixture of illustrations and photographs.

There is a page of stickers at the end of each book to make your own scene. Kids love stickers.

Small enough to slip into a rucksack or your handbag, these would be great to keep little ones occupied whilst out and about.
Great stocking filler idea!

5 out of 5 for us!

Thank you TopThat! Publishing for sending me a couple of review copies.

It's Monday, what are u reading? 19 /9

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey

This weekend

Unfortunately, a busy weekend just houseworking etc and so not much reading achieved.
Last week was a slow reading week as I took part in the very busy BBAW.  It was lots of fun and I picked up some great tips.  I posted each day and you can find the blog posts in my older posts. 

Almost finished

Persuade Me - Juliet Archer  

I reviewed (Un)Like a Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes and interviewed Lucy here

There is a chance to win one of five copies of the novel here  UK only giveaway. Ends 23.9.11

In my postbox

A Winter Bride by Isla Dewar Review copy, thank you Ebury Publishing.

What I am reading next

This week I really don't know yet.  I have a few chapters of my latest read and then I have so many lovely books on my TBR shelf, I don't know what to read next.

Coming up at DizzyCLBB

• Don't forget the Giveaway in the top left sidebar
• Eloisa James is guest author on Friday 23rd Sept
• Reviews to come for The Froobles children's books and Persuade Me by Juliet Archer

My dear blog friend Sharon at Jera's Jamboree is having a 50 follower giveaway for a Choc Lit novel.  (UK only)  

What does your week look like?

DizzyC

(Un)Like a Virgin - UK only giveaway

The lovely folks at Little, Brown have offered me 5 copies of (Un)like a Virgin by Lucy-Anne Holmes to giveaway.  UK addresses only.

Please leave a comment below to enter the giveaway.

I will contact the winners via email.  Please ONLY leave your email (spaced out to avoid spam) if I would not be able to contact you via your blog/twitter/or google feed.

Closing date 23/9/11

UK addresses only.

Please read giveaway policy

Guest Author - Lucy-Anne Holmes

Today I have the honour and pleasure of introducing Lucy-Anne Holmes, Author of (Un)like a Virgin.  This is a cracking 5 star read!

1.    Lucy, thank you for joining me today and answering my questions. I look forward to your next novel whatever the final title will be. :)

P      
     Please tell us a little about yourself.

Oo where to start? Well, key facts would be that I am 35, newly single and currently back living with my parents. So, where, on the inside page of my new book, it states ‘Lucy-Anne Holmes is an actress living in London’, which sounds rather glamorous, it should say ‘Lucy-Anne Holmes is an actress living in Eastbourne with her parents, but hoping to buy a camper van in the near future.’

I trained as an actress, and have been doing plays and commercials and the odd bit of telly for years, but the writing began after I started an online blog, which charted my dating disasters. It garnered some interest from agents and publishers and led me to write a novel.

2.    Gracie is a super character with lots of energy and drive, where did she come from?

Oh, thank you! I love her too! Sadly I don’t know where she came from. It’s a lovely question though, because, where do ideas come from? Sometimes you see something and it triggers an idea but sometimes they just appear in your head like magic. Gracie was like that. I’ve never met anyone like her. Physically she’s an amalgamation of two women I know, but as for her personality, she’s not based on anyone in particular. I remember getting the idea of the story though, I was sitting in my old flat in Camden and I’d just tidied the lounge, and suddenly this story started to be daydreamed into being in my head. The story got fleshier and fleshier and I literally sat there for hours thinking about it and then I called my dad and told him the bones of it.

3.    What songs would be on the karaoke machine for you to sing?

I can’t sing a note!! When I was at Drama school my singing teacher told me that if tune was London I was in Birmingham! I would love to be able to belt out some Adele, but for the good of society I will never do that. I adore music though, which I’m sure was why I enjoyed writing the music storyline in Unlike A Virgin so much.

4.    What are you working on next?

A new novel, as yet untitled, well, I want to call it Smiling Fanny, but my publishers go very pale at the thought. It’s about a girl named Jenny Taylor, but her friends call her Fanny, she’s lovely, she had a bit of a hard time of it growing up, and her best friend wrote her The Smiling Fanny Manifesto to perk her up. It’s a list of things she should do every day to stay cheerful. She’s been doing this list religiously for years and it’s led her to meet loads of people and have lots of adventures. We meet her on a day when 3 things happen to threaten this happiness she’s been trying so hard to keep.

5.    What book is on your bedside table?

I’m having a bit of a dark reading spell because I have to hand a book in to my publishers, like, today! GAHHHHHHH!! And I have to try to limit things, ie, getting into a good novel, which will distract me from achieving this. Hence, on my bedside table is Haruki Murakami’s book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which is not a novel so is therefore currently ‘allowed’. I have newly got into running and am doing a half marathon in 2 weeks. I’m really enjoying the passion with which he writes about running and writing and it’s managing to encourage both my writing and my running..marvellous! 

Little, Brown Publisher is running an AMAZING competition http://www.littlebrownbooks.net/britainsings/ to win a Play Station 3 and Singstar package, so that you can sing your heart out like Gracie Flowers in the book! 
Little, Brown say we’ve set up our own Singing Contest, Britain Sings http://www.facebook.com/pages/Britain-Sings/162133383864884?sk=wall, to rival the X-Factor so do upload your own audition. 




You can find out more about Lucy here

Party time - woo hoo! Where's my lipstick?

I am attending the on-line party to launch Carol’s debut novel Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines.

    

 It should prove to be a fabulous opportunity to meet new bloggers and friends; a huge cyber gathering, so come on and join me. I can invite as many guests as I want and you only need to bring a sense of fun with you. You will be able to mix and meet a variety of people from Blogland.

There is a ‘Mini Skirt’ competition with a few surprises. Come and vote for a winner!


There is also a ‘Laughter Line’ contest where you can vote for your favourite joke – an event which should bring a smile to your face.  I wonder if my joke made the judging.


In various ‘rooms’ you will be able to mingle and ‘chat’ to other bloggers and ‘A’ list celebrities. There are even some Guests of Honour. There will be virtual dancing and of course, as it is a book launch party, the opportunity to read some of Carol’s very entertaining novel and even win a copy.


Have you read the book already? Then come over and leave a comment – it could win you a prize. Are you on Facebook? Then ‘like’ Carol E Wyer’s page and answer the question ‘What film/book or television series makes you laugh most?’It could win you a copy of the book.   

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Have you never heard of Carol? Well, come and join her, me and all of us. The party starts at 0:00 am UK time Friday 16^th 2011 and will go on all day. 


Directions??? Oh, yes just follow the link Facing50withhumour Party

DizzyC