Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
As you might remember, I started hosting for Rachel’s Random Resources as [2017] was about to fold into [2018] whilst happily *celebrating!* the New Year with my first Mills & Boon Historical reading wherein I found I truly appreciated finding the writing style of Ms Catherine Tinley!
Today, I am spotlighting a Digital First release which I do hope goes into a print run in the future – allowing me to ‘meet it’ against the page properly – however, until the day arrives where it is released into more formats outside it’s digital debut, I wanted to ask the author a topic which would seek to better understand her character & the motivations of her character to grow through the journey she undertakes in this novel.
When I first read the premise – I was quite taken by the circumstances, as it’s not your traditional set-up and queue for a Rom Com nor for a Contemporary Romance novel – it has a few right angles inside it where you could see the character Sapphire truly has to sort out her life, put to rights the misunderstandings others have on her behalf and somehow, through it all in the end, find a reason to still have hope within her life for a happier ending than the rocky beginning she’s undertaken.
Lately, I have been keeping my eye out for Contemporary Romances and Contemporary Women’s Fiction stories – including those like Sapphire which might not be stories I might readily have sought out in the past, but ones I felt I might enjoy now in the present. When it comes to Contemporary stories, I tend to vacillate which ones I want to read because I’m quite particular about the kinds I enjoy reading. This one seemed to have something unique within it’s pages and therefore, I enjoyed assembling the guest feature for Ms Ladbury on today’s tour stop!
I hope if your a visitor through the tour route you’ll take a kind moment to leave the author a comment or question in the threads below; especially if this is a title you were considering to read yourself?
The Magic of the Stars
Subtitle: Sometimes all you need is a little starlight to guide you home.
by Jackie Ladbury
Sapphire Montrose always felt like a loser in the struggle of life, but when she becomes the airline manager of a run-down airline she starts to believe she is a winner – until she unwittingly propositions her new boss and all her hard work is undone.
In a moment of recklessness air stewardess, Sapphire Montrose throws caution and her dress to the wind by propositioning a handsome stranger in a hotel in Florence, only to find herself waking up alone and embarrassed in her hotel room.
Unfortunately for Sapphire, it turns out that her new boss, Marco Cavarelli, is the man she failed to seduce and she is now fighting for her job and her self-respect when he tells her there is no place in his revamped airline for an alcoholic woman with lascivious tendencies. To make matters worse she is increasingly attracted to him and he seems to be giving out the same vibes. Or is he simply testing her? One wrong move could be the end of her career. But what if he really is offering love – and is he worth the risk?
Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance
Places to find the book:
on 1st January, 2018
This is a Digital First Release | one which I hope goes into print!
Topic I selected to ask the Author:
What do you think grieved Sapphire the most for being impulsive rather than cautious when it came to having a fling with an unknown suitor especially in regards to when his true identity (as her boss) was revealed? Do you think this experience altered her perception about herself or how others are quick to judge her out of turn? What do you think changed her the most through this ordeal?
Sapphire acted impulsively when she took a trip to see her boyfriend in Florence, having finally decided that she was ready to move their relationship forward. She was unfortunately rewarded by finding him in bed with another woman. Going against all of her instincts she headed for the bar in an upmarket hotel and started drinking grappa and wine knowing that she wasn’t used to alcohol. It was undoubtedly the drink talking when she asked a handsome stranger she met in the bar if he wanted to sleep with her. This rash decision was bolstered by the fact that she’d finally made the choice to sleep with her boyfriend – almost as if she was blurring the two men into one. It was never going to end happily and Sapphire was going to have to live with the consequences of her disgraceful behaviour. These first two chapters are amongst my favourite as I feel it shows Sapphire in her true light, being spirited and funny and it sets the scene for the way their relationship plays out, him being serious and proper and Sapphire being scatty, yet determined.
When she realised what she’d done and had to accept that she’d also been turned down by the stranger, she just wanted to forget the whole embarrassing episode and return to the job that she loved.
Unfortunately, the very same man stepped on board her aircraft some months later. Sapphire’s anxiety at having to spend three hours on an aircraft with him was nothing compared to the pounding of her heart when she discovered that he was none other than Marco Cavarelli, a rich businessman known in all the glossy magazines for his good looks and newly single status. Worse was to come when her work colleague told her with great glee that he was their new boss.
When she was confronted by Marco, Sapphire was more upset that she was on being judged by him on the events of one single encounter. She felt the judgement was unfair even though she knew she had behaved badly. She was desperate to redeem herself, although at the same time she was angry that Marco refused to believe that her behaviour was out of character – she’s not a wanton alcoholic!
Sapphire was used to being disappointed in life as her upbringing wasn’t the best, but slowly she started to trust in Marco and dared to hope that he finally understood she wasn’t the woman he’d imagined she was. Learning to trust Marco and having faith that he wanted the best for her was a hard lesson for Sapphire who was used to empty promises and broken dreams.
Don’t want to give any spoilers here, so will leave it there. suffice to say, Sapphire was trying her hardest not to fall in love but then, ‘All you need is a little Starlight to guide you home.’
About Jackie Ladbury
Jackie Ladbury was desperate to become a journalist when she left school but was ousted within minutes on the day of the exam at her local rag because she'd forgotten to bring a pen.
Short and sharp lesson learned.
Her budding writing career was not on hold for long, though, as Jackie found herself scribbling love stories of pilots and 'hosties' while she flew in aeroplanes of various shapes and sizes as a flight attendant herself.
Fast forward a good few years and, after being short-listed in a couple of prestigious romantic writing competitions, Jackie decided it was time to discard her stilettos, say goodbye to the skies and concentrate on writing romantic novels, where the only given is a guaranteed 'happy ever after.'
This author interview is courtesy of: Rachel’s Random Resources
Rachel & I first crossed paths whilst celebrating our mutual love of ChocLitUK novels – this blog tour marks the first I’ve been able to host for her after discovering recently she has a blog touring company! You’ve might have seen her badge in my sidebar!? I am looking forward to bringing Guest Author Features, Book Spotlights w/ Notes & Reviews to Jorie Loves A Story hosted by Rachel! It’s quite lovely when someone you know in the twitterverse has started their own company & has followed their passion for helping others. I look forward to working with Rachel more often starting in 2018!
You will next see me hosting her blog tours on the following dates:
- the 12th of February, 2018 : Interview with the writer of Andorra Pett series
- the 27th of February, 2018 : Lord Ravenscar’s Inconvenient Betrothal by Lara Temple
- the 16th of March, 2018 : Interview with the writer of The Best Boomerville Hotel
- the 22nd of March, 2018 : Author Guest Post & Review of The Invisible Hand (a re-telling of Shakespeare)
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Magic of Stars”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Jackie Ladbury and the tour badge were all provided by Rachel Random Resources and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Writerly Topics and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
Comments via Twitter:
#GuestPost by @JackieLadbury
via her #blogtour for The Magic of Stars✨Q: Do you think this experience altered her perception about herself or how others are quick to judge her out of turn? #WomensFiction | #Contemporary #Romance
🦋https://t.co/9LVzK5R8dT #bookbloggers pic.twitter.com/2gWDo7a5rV— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter 📚👩💻 (@joriestory) January 30, 2018
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