Series Spotlight w/ Notes and Extracts | The Mill Grange series by Jenny Kane feat. “Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange” and “Autumn Leaves and Mills Grange”!

Posted Thursday, 24 September, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I’ve been a bit out of sync with my blog off/on throughout 2020. I’ve been having some adversely difficult migraines to transition through as much as the health of my parents have been affected throughout the year as well. In essence, I’ve had to take different gaps of time off my blog and thereby, as I lose a bit of my short term memory due to the severity of the migraines themselves, on certain occasions – I’ve either forgotten about a blog tour (such as the first novel in this series I was meant to spotlight earlier in the Summer) completely OR I’ve had to reschedule a blog tour due to my inability to read the stories.

It has been a rather interesting year from that angle – as from other viewings of the year, things haven’t gone too bad considering and yet, I’ve gone through moments with my blog where I’ve felt inspired to blog nearly everyday and/or every week (at least) to moments where the blog is barely able to keep surfacing. This is a plight of most book bloggers I believe this year and my reasons behind my absences and bouts offline are more due to health afflictions than they are due to anything else – except for some of the tech issues I’ve gone through with connectivity difficulties and/or the odd lightning storm which can wreck havoc on anyone’s online life.

I’ve been blessed to have found such a lovely collection of stories I am keenly interested in reading and/or listening on audiobook this year published by Head of Zeus. I shall be spending most of the next year gathering them, as some were not yet released in either print or audio formats whilst some of them were cross-released immediately. I love hosting for this publisher – as they are one of the publishers I am finding whose writers are writing stories which interest me to read.

I decided to make amends for one of my forgotten blog tours this Summer today, by including information on behalf of the first novel of the Mill Grange series “Midsummer at Mill Grange” whilst celebrating the release of the sequel and second novel of the series “Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange”. Hopefully I’ll entice your bookish curiosity about these stories whilst redeeming myself a bit by having missed the chance to celebrate the series as it first released.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Why I wanted to host a spotlight & extract
for these two lovely new books in a new series ‘Mill Grange’:

As the founder and host of @SatBookChat – I am constantly seeking to find new stories featuring strong women in the centre of Romance & Women’s Fiction. I read an equal amount of Contemporary and Historical stories within these genres of interest whilst encompassing all the lovely sub-niches of their literary styles as well. This New Year 2020 I am also seeking out Feminist Lit which celebrates the kind of stories I am enjoying to discover as well. All of which I try to champion and showcase in the chats I host on Saturdays – wherein writers, readers, book reviewers, book bloggers and the rest of the bookish community on Twitter get to engage with one another. Thereby as a regular reader of these stories I was delighted to find a #newtomeauthor to start seeking out to read!

I’ve been happily finding new stories to read and listen to through hosting for Head of Zeus this year which tuck into the topics, themes and stories I love championing during #SatBookChat, and the Mill Grange series fit within the kind of sphere of story I love to discover, read and champion during my chat. Mostly as if it involves Romance, Women’s Fiction or any story with a Feminist message bent into the novel – odds are in good favour I’m going to LOVE it.

When it comes to Mill Grange, the other benefit of course is the fact this is a series set round a community and small towne atmosphere which are amongst my favourites to read as you get to stay longer and sit more with the characters you’ve found in a setting which is a cosy comfort to re-visit. Hence why I am thankful to be on this lovely blog tour and to draw a light of joy round finding it!

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Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy the extracts from these stories!

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Series Spotlight w/ Notes and Extracts | The Mill Grange series by Jenny Kane feat. “Midsummer Dreams at Mill Grange” and “Autumn Leaves and Mills Grange”!Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange
by Jenny Kane

At Mill Grange, the work – and the fun – never stops! As autumn brings coolness and colour, change is in the air for all at the manor...

Sam Philips' time in the forces changed him forever. Supported by his friends, Sam is keen to help make beautiful Mill Grange a safe retreat for injured army personnel... but his crippling claustrophobia means Sam is living in a tent on the grounds! Enlisting the help of charming village stalwarts Bert and Mabel Hastings, Tina Martins is determined to find a way to help him conquer his fears. But why does she feel like he is keeping a secret?

After discovering evidence of a Roman fortlet on the manor's grounds, Thea Thomas is thrilled at the chance to return to her archaeological roots and lead the excavation. She spent the summer with handsome celebrity archaeologist Shaun Cowlson – but now he's off filming his Landscape Treasures show in Cornwall, and Thea can't help but miss his company. Especially as someone else is vying for his attention...

Welcome back to Mill Grange and the beautiful village of Upwich, full of larger-than-life characters you can't help but adore.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction



Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1838938123

ASIN: B0888VGHM9

Published by Aria Fiction

on 10th September, 2020

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The Mill Grange series:

Midsummer Dreams at Mills Grange by Jenny Kane Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane

Midsummer Dreams At Mill Grange (book one)

Thea Thomas needs to get away from her old life… and the interfering ex who won’t leave her alone. When she lands a job heading up the restoration of Mill Grange, a stunning Victorian manor, it feels like the perfect opportunity to start afresh.

What Thea didn’t anticipate was how hostile the volunteer team, led by the formidable Mable Hastings, would be about accepting new leadership. And with the deadline looming before the grand opening, Thea is in desperate need of more volunteers.

A broadcast appeal on the local news attracts the interest of arrogant but undeniably attractive celebrity historian Shaun Cowlson, who wants to make a TV programme about the restoration. It’s hard enough adding one more big personality to the mix – but then her ex turns up as one of the volunteers! What seemed like a dream come true is fast becoming a total disaster! Can Thea find a way to save the manor?

Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange (book two)

Published By: Aria Fiction (@Aria_Fiction)
a Digital First imprint of Head of Zeus (@HoZ_Books)

Converse via: #MillGrange, #ContemporaryRomance and #HeadOfZeus

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Enjoy this Extract

from “Midsummer at Mill Grange”

Oblivious to his lack of tact, John smiled in a way that made his emerald eyes shine with the promise of mischief. ‘I wasn’t one hundred per cent sure it was you, but I had to check. It felt like the right thing to do.’

‘The right thing to do?’ Wary, and unsure she wanted the answer to her next question, Thea asked, ‘How did you know I was here?’

Ignoring the enquiry, John pinched a few cake crumbs from her plate. ‘I wanted to ask you to come out to dinner with me tonight.’

Thea almost choked on her coffee.

‘I want to talk to you. It’s been ages. We have a lot to catch up on.’

‘It’s only been three months, John. We have nothing to catch up on.’

John Sommers was the only boyfriend Thea had ever dumped, and he’d made it as difficult as he could. And even then he’d refused to fully let her go.

‘We only dated for a year. It was nice for a while, but then I discovered we wanted different things from life. It took all my courage to tell you it was over. .’ Hooking her bag onto her shoulder, Thea took stood up. ‘I’m sorry I hurt you, John, but I couldn’t make myself love you. Nor could I mould myself into the woman you wanted me to be.’

‘You couldn’t then. I can see that.’ John’s expression became serious. ‘However, things are different now.’ He centred his attention on the bowl of sugar cubes in the middle of the table. ‘I’m extremely successful. I’ve taken a promotion which has brought me back, to Bath.’

‘Back to Bath?’ Thea held her jacket across her chest. ‘But you only moved to Newcastle two months ago. ’

‘You remember the company I worked for here, Sure Digital?’

‘Of course I do! It’s all you ever talked about.’ Thea found herself reaching for the dregs of her coffee. ‘You only left them a couple of months ago.’

‘For a better post in Newcastle, yes…’ John’s eyebrows knitted together as he rubbed his chin. He looked like a caricature of someone trying to think. ‘With hindsight, I was unreasonable to expect you to come with me.’

‘You didn’t ask me to come with you!’ Thea regretted her reaction as soon as she saw the glimmer of hope flash in John’s eyes.

‘I should have said as soon as we got to the restaurant. I see that now. Just think of all the archaeology in the Northumberland and Tyneside area you could have explored up there.’

Trying her best to follow John’s disjointed logic, Thea sat back down with a resigned sigh. ‘It would have made no difference. I have a life here. Anyway, I left you before you told me you were leaving.’

John flapped the point away with a flick of his wrist. ‘It’s immaterial now, because Safe Hands Digital up north, and Sure Digital here, are merging. And guess whose old school friend needs someone to head up the merger and run the newly combined IT department?’

Thea sighed into her cup. ‘I wonder.’

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First off, I am in LOVE with the cover art for these novels! They give you seasonal clues of joy as much as the setting itself is one that feels very alluring to me to pursue. I love whenever cover art can convey either a notation about a character or the setting in which I will soon find myself consumed. Mills Grange just has an aesthetic appeal! Outside of the artwork itself, restoration is a key topic of interest for me because I have long held an appreciation for older homes and estates. I am the geeky girl who used to binge watch all the restoration shows on HGTV until the channel seemed to grow redundant and a bit too predictable. However, my love of restoring older homes has never wavered and I love how curiously intriguing it is when you dive into restoration to find hidden assets like wooden floors tucked under mounds of carpet or original details covered over by shoddy pannelling or other additions made centuries after the original house was built.

Yet, my love of restoration isn’t limited to houses – I recently took up a zest of love for the NetFlix series “The Repair Shop” which is world of story set behind the objects which become lovingly restored back to their original essence to where it is hard to watch the series without feeling emotionally connected to the people whose items are being given a second chance to be themselves.

The house at Mill Grange looks like the kind of project that would not only be exhaustive but a challenging one which would give someone a proper chance to find respite from the things in life which were adversely affecting one’s health, such as how Thea found herself here. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to take a leap of faith and change her stars. Who wouldn’t if roles were reversed?!

In the extract I was given it shows how hard it is to distance yourself from a bloke who is either decidedly clueless in relationships or has a very controlling mindset when it comes to dating. I err on saying he has the latter and it would be interesting to see how the story shifts forward and how Thea can finally find freedom away from her ex. Whilst at the same time, I am completely fascinated with the concept of restoring Mill Grange!

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Enjoy this Extract

from “Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange”

Thea leant over the fence and watched the chickens as they pecked around their run.

‘It’s alright for you, Gertrude – your man doesn’t have to disappear for weeks at a time for work. He’s right where you want him.’

As Thea watched, the rooster came out of the chicken coop and made a beeline for Betty, Gertrude’s chief rival for his affections.

‘Then again, maybe not. At least Shaun’s working away and not playing away.’

Gertrude cocked her head to one side as if to ask Thea, ‘How long is he away?’

‘I don’t know. As long as it takes to excavate and film a pre-Norman church I suppose. He said the deadline was a month, but keeping to deadlines rarely works in archaeology.’

The squeal of the gate to the walled garden distracted Thea from any wisdom Gertrude may have been about to share.

‘Morning, Sam.’ Thea raised a hand to the new owner of Mill Grange. ‘Come to seek a dose of chicken philosophy?’

‘Is there a better sort?’ Pulling a bag of apple and pepper slices from his bulging jacket pockets, Sam emptied them into the coop. ‘I’ve been thinking about giving the girls more space. Half the walled garden perhaps; what do you think?’

‘That’s a great idea.’ Thea turned her back on the increased pecking and surveyed the rows of vegetable beds before her. Half of them were flourishing, thanks to Sam’s green fingers, and promised crops of potatoes, cabbages and more. The rest were overgrown and in desperate need of tender loving care.

‘We’re going to need more eggs when we get regular guests, and although I want to cultivate as much of the garden as possible, there’s still enough land to allow the hens to roam more freely.’

‘You’re thinking of getting more friends for Gertrude and co?’

Sam looked lovingly at his chickens. ‘I’d like to, but I’m not sure if you can add new fowl into an existing flock. Tina’s going to do some research into it later.’

‘That reminds me—’ Thea flicked a windblown hair from her eyes ‘—Sybil asked if she can increase her egg order from two dozen to three dozen every other day for the tea room.’

‘Excellent.’ Sam rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. ‘That settles it then. We can’t expect these girls to up production. Nor can we afford to lose even the smallest chance of extra income. We’ll order more chickens, even if we need to build a second coop.’

Staring across the garden, Mill Grange’s Victorian splendour rising up behind them, Thea was reminded of how much had happened since she’d first laid eyes on this jewel of a house, hidden away on Exmoor.

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I love how this scene tucks us back into Mill Grange after Thea has already begun her work there and after she’s resolved the fiasco with her ex-boyfriend. As she clearly has moved on (good on her!) and I love how this focuses instead on the chickens! (big smiles) It shows such a wonderful moment where you realise that in order to keep sustaining a place like Mill Grange you have to constantly think outside the box and sort out a way to remain substainable with the assets you have whilst noting how the land can provide for itself.

I definitely loved the chattering exchanges she had with the chickens, too, because who hasn’t talked to their animals?! You spend so much time amongst them and half the time it seems like they could talk if only they were given the chance! And, the things they’d tell us I’m sure would surprise us more than it would do anything else! Laughs.

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I am thankful I could finally showcase this series and help get the word out about it as once again it has become a most intriguing series for me and one that I will enjoy seeking out to read. Let me know if these extracts have turnt your eye onto the series and what you love most from Contemporary Romances such as this one!

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About Jenny Kane

Jenny Kane

Jenny Kane is the bestselling author of several romantic fiction series. Her first novel, Another Cup of Coffee (Accent Press), was a Kindle bestseller. The final novel in this series, Another Glass of Champagne, was released in June 2016. Jenny Kane’s Cornish romance, A Cornish Escape, hit No.1 in the Amazon Romance, Contemporary Fiction, and Women’s Fiction charts, and was followed by a sequel, Abi’s Neighbour, Jenny’s seventh novel.

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I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary! Especially if you read the book or were thinking you might be inclined to read it. Are you a reader of Contemporary Romance? Is Jenny Kane on your bookshelf already or an author you’re considering to add to your TBR? Which novels of Contemporary Romance do you appreciate and which ones do you think I should consider?
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Bookish conversations are always welcome on Jorie Loves A Story.

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Follow this Blog Tour:

Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange tour poster one provided by Head of Zeus and is used with permission.Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange tour poster two provided by Head of Zeus and is used with permission.

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NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. 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. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.

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{SOURCES: Book covers for “Midsummer at Mill Grange” and “Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange”, book synopsis, author photograph of Jenny Kane, author biography, the extracts from the books and the blog tour banners were all provided by Head of Zeus and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Stories in the Spotlight banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Thursday, 24 September, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Contemporary Romance, Head of Zeus, Romance Fiction




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