Category: Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author

Author Guest Post | Lara Temple visits Jorie whilst sharing a bit of insight into “Lord Ravenscar’s Inconvenient Betrothal”

Posted Tuesday, 27 February, 2018 by jorielov Lara Temple, Mills and Boon 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

As you might have noticed, I have become a bit smitten with Mills & Boon Historicals lately – in fact, my first introduction to to the infamous line of Romance novels was through my readings of The Captain’s Disgraced Lady wherein I found myself quite keenly thrilled for the chance to finally read my first Mills & Boon Historical Rom! I’m quite familiar with Harlequin as both of these publishers (as they are one of the same) are equally well-known irregardless of which side of the ‘Pond’ you live on – what caught my eye this particular year are the story-lines and the writers who are writing them.

I am thankful I started hosting with Rachel in order to bring spotlights about these stories but also, having the chance to read a few of them as well. For this particular tour, I had the pleasure of crafting together a topic I felt would inspire my regular readers & blog tour visitors alike to feel better acquainted with Ms Temple and the series she has started to create wherein this novel is the second entry! As you know, I recently have floundered a bit with my Harlequin & Mills and Boon stories – in relation to ‘order of sequence’ for the series themselves – despite that small hurdle, what will be a happy affair is chasing down copies of the stories! As I learnt via Mills & Boon DM on Twitter – the stories themselves are only offered for a limited print run before they are ‘retired’; ergo, it shall be a treasure map of joy once I sort out where they all went in used book channels!

This particular series is a bit of a step outside my usual wanderings – as sometimes I like to do that – pick something rather random which has elements of what is familiar to me and read about a character who may or may not be considered a charming gentleman but perhaps he has a few coveted secrets of his own he’s trying to hide? In other words, I am not generally the girl who regularly seeks out the ‘bad boys’ of Romance – yet every so often, I find myself attracted to a story like this one which has ‘something’ inside it which intrigues me. I think it’s healthy to read in and out of our comfort zones – seeking stories we might overlook otherwise & taking the risk to see if something new might warrant a refreshingly new interest into the writers we might not have known otherwise.

Similar of course, to the theory of thought behind Ms Temple’s response – of how even she, as a writer likes taking her characters outside their own elements of comfort – seeing how they will react & if they will take a leap of faith to find where they will fall afterwards. After all, life without a bit of risk is a bit too boring and I, for one, agree with Ms Temple – spicing up our lives a bit by daring to read or experience something which intrigues us is what gives us a hearty jolt of joy.

I personally love the depth and breadth of these characters she’s created – I can tell I shall be wholly engaged with their journey and most likely, on pins to see how it concludes! What do you say dear hearts!? Do you like to push the envelope a bit on your readerly endeavours? Seeking stories you might have overlooked if only to see if you can find a writer who writes not only with conviction but gives such a firm rounding of scope for their characters your thankful you took the risk to wander outside your normal literary realms of interest?!

I look forward to seeing your comments & thoughts on behalf of this novel or any of the lovely Mills & Boon stories you’ve found to your likely. I look forward to seeing what you’ll be sharing – and may you leave some notes for Ms Temple, too! She left behind a wicked brilliant introduction to this novel! Til next time – enjoy a hearty cuppa of your favourite brew & may your reading adventures fill you with blissitudes!

Lord Ravenscar's Inconvenient Betrothal
by Lara Temple

“Women either ran from Lord Ravenscar or ran to him.”

A Wild Lords and Innocent Ladies story

Alan Rothwell, Marquess of Ravenscar, is furious when unconventional heiress Lily Wallace refuses him purchase of her property. He can’t even win her over with his infamous charm. But when fever seizes him and they’re trapped together, horrified, Alan realizes Lily’s attentions will compromise them both! His solution: take Lily as his betrothed before desire consumes them completely…

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9780263932737

on 1st March, 2018

Published By: Mills & Boon (@MillsandBoon)
an imprint of HarperCollins UK + Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

Wild Lords & Innocent Ladies Series:

Lord Hunter’s Cinderella Heiress | Synopsis

Lord Ravenscar’s Inconvenient Betrothal

Formats Available: Mills & Boon Historical paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #HistFict + #HistRom or #MillsAndBoon #Historical

Topic I selected to ask the Author:

“I personally love the lead-in to the plot behind “Lord Ravenscar’s Inconvenient Betrothal” because there is a measure of realism in how it builds round the ‘unexpected jolt of being placed together’ which leads into a romance no one was expecting to happen. What inspired you most by telling the story in this manner and by taking both your lead characters off-guard in such a dramatic way?”

Posted Tuesday, 27 February, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Rachel's Random Resources, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author

Author Guest Post | On re-writing and re-inventing adventures of Sherlock Holmes by the author William Todd

Posted Tuesday, 20 February, 2018 by jorielov A Reflection of Evil, Self Published, Sherlock Holmes, William Todd 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts,

I have had an appreciation for Sherlock Holmes – both in canon and outside of it – for quite a long time now. I am particular about which stories outside the canon of Doyle I seek out to read – as previously I came to love Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series and the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer. What I look for when sourcing out new after canon sequels &/or re-tellings of Classical Literature are the writers who not only pay homage to the original creator of the stories but of whom have truly created their own ‘voice’ of those characters in such a style as to give credence to why their stories are being told.

The interesting bit of course, is how each writer in turn chooses to enter into the realms of where the original canon of Doyle has left off and where new enroads towards telling new stories of Sherlock & Watson still remain. One thing I noted about Ms King’s approach was to place Sherlock in his retirement years whereas Mr Todd has chosen to gain entry through the portal given by Watson himself – when he had mentioned not every case might not be known of which had a hand of sleuthing aided by Holmes. In this, it makes for a plausible entry to re-join Sherlock & Watson directly.

As I was listening to the sampler of “A Reflection of Evil”, I noticed strong influences out of the canon itself and thus, was quite intrigued to listen to the whole story – seeing how Mr Todd interwove his story next to the ones we all know of being ‘Holmes’. Therefore, when I set to mind which topic I wanted to ask the author for the tour, I chose to focus on how he made the transition into voicing Holmes and giving us an authentic re-entry therein.

On the morrow, I’ll be sharing my ruminative thoughts about this audiobook – whilst today, I am hopeful for those of you who enjoy a wicked good story of Sherlock Holmes, perhaps this story or the other ones Mr Todd is creating might be of interest to you as well. As that is one thing about being a book blogger which is quite keenly splendid – we all get to help inform each other of the stories which are percolating on the horizon which could be of mutual interest to seek out!

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the premise behind this story as well as if you have an appreciation for Holmes – either in stories, motion picture (my personal favourite is Basil Rathbone) or television (such as Benedict Cumberbatch’s series, which I enjoyed until S3).

Guest Post about A Reflection in Evil

After months of inactivity, Holmes and Watson have two cases thrust in their lap in a single day. First, a mysterious woman from Swansea, Wales, seeks Holmes' help finding her husband who has disappeared in the middle of the night. As soon as she leaves, Holmes receives word that there has been a prison riot with several dead and a few inmates missing. Lestrade is asking for his services.

Holmes believes the two cases are not a coincidence, but he has no idea who is behind it and to what end. They go to Swansea in what could be either a wild goose chase or a setup. Will Holmes unravel the mystery before they get to Swansea? If not what will be in store for them when they step off the train?

Places to find the book:

ASIN: B078SC6TCM

on 5th January, 2018

Self Published Audiobook

William Todd’s Sherlock Holmes stories:

Sherlock Holmes in A Reflection of Evil

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Broken Window

Formats Available: Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook

About William Todd

I have been writing online since the early 2000’s, primarily writing horror stories in the style of Poe and Lovecraft. I was the 2nd most popular author on the website storiesbyemail.com for two years before moving on.

I had my first book, a Victorian era horror compilation called Bumps in the Night, published by Mystic Moon Press just a week before they closed their website and never saw my hard work pay off. Afterwards I took publishing into my own hands, became an Indie author and haven’t looked back. My first self-published book was Dead of Night, another compilation of Victorian horror stories, published September 2016 by Createspace and on Kindle by KDP.

After its publication I left my comfort zone for mystery and wrote a short story about Sherlock Holmes in the Conan Doyle style. I loved it so much I then did a longer story A Reflection of Evil, both published in 2017 through Createspace and KDP. I have just released Beyond the Gossamer Veil, another compilation of both Victorian and modern supernatural/horror stories and am in the beginning stages of my third Sherlock Holmes installment.

Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Posted Tuesday, 20 February, 2018 by jorielov in After the Canon, Audiobookworm Promotions, Blog Tour Host, Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Indie Author, Inspired By Author OR Book, Inspired by Stories, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Self-Published Author, Sequel Authors

Author Guest Post | Jorie pitches a topic to Jackie Ladbury to better understand her character, Sapphire in her latest release “The Magic of Stars”!

Posted Tuesday, 30 January, 2018 by jorielov Jackie Ladbury, The Magic of Stars 0 Comments

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:

Add to LibraryThing

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?

Posted Tuesday, 30 January, 2018 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Rachel's Random Resources, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Women's Fiction

Author Q&A | feat. Rachel Brimble as the Templeton Cove series draws a conclusion with the eighth release “A Stranger in the Cove” which talks about identity and origins of birth.

Posted Wednesday, 17 January, 2018 by jorielov A Stranger in the Cove, Harlequin Books, Harlequin Super Romance, Rachel Caine, Templeton Cove series 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

As you might have noticed, I am seeking out quite a lovely array of stories published by Harlequin as well as having read my first *Mills & Boon* Historical Romance recently which left me swooning for the first novel in the series!

Today, I have the joy of featuring a short Q&A with a Harlequin author who has recently brought her lovely series to an end – the Templeton Cove series, which surprisingly had a lot of continuity and forethought stitched into it’s series arc as you will see revealled in our conversation! What inspired me most about this novel – the eighth and last of the series – is how it is a story about personal identity and the origins of a person’s birth – of finding out the truer histories which are not always readily known and for resolving the angst of not understanding who you are because you do not fully understand where you came from in the beginning.

The reason I have been wanting to seek out more stories of birth origins or identity issues as well as stories of foster care youth and Adoption are due to my own path towards being an Adoptive Mum. There are stories being published which focus on these life changing events – however, finding the stories has been quite difficult of late, as they are not as easy to seek out as you might believe they would be. Therefore, I am delighted to be finding new authors who are striving to tell heart-centred stories set around these themes.

Initially when I sought out to interview Ms Brimble, I had thought the Templeton Cove series might be on-going still – I learnt through our conversation Mac’s story is the capstone and the ending. It would appear I fell a bit short realising this but it has given me new purpose to seek out the stories leading up to Mac’s discovery about his own identity and the issues he had in resolving the questions he had about his birth mother. All children deserve to understand their origins – which is why I know it is healthy for them to seek out their birth families even if the outcome might not be what they are expecting, it is hard to resolve ‘who’ you are without understanding ‘where’ you came from originally.

I am thankful to Ms Debbie at Brook Cottage Books for helping me put this interview together – it was a bit last minute due to my illness this past month, as I had forgotten who was hosting this particular blog tour! Such is the stress of having a virus overtake your life! Therefore, I felt her instincts for choosing which questions to send to the author were well in-tune with what was most curious in my own heart about this series. The conversation is one I think you will enjoy because it digs into the heart of both the series and the character of Mac who is the central lead character in this eighth and final installment!

Be sure to brew a cuppa of your favourite tea whilst your reading this convo!

A Stranger in the Cove
Subtitle: Templeton Cove series

Mac Orman is on a mission. When he discovers his recently deceased father had been searching for his birth mother, Mac aims to finish the job by finding the grandmother he never knew. His quest leads him to Templeton Cove—and a firecracker of a woman who instantly jump-starts his tortured heart.

For Mac, Kate Harrington is the most tempting kind of distraction. But their sizzling connection comes with a side of suspicion for Kate, who doesn’t trust this brooding stranger in her town. Mac arrived with no plans to stay, but as he falls for Kate, he wonders how he could ever possibly leave.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1335449085

on 2nd January, 2018

Published By: Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks)
via their imprint Harlequin Super Romance

Follow the Templeton Cove Twitter feeds!

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

Converse via: #ContemporaryRomance & #TempletonCove or #HarlequinSuperRomance

When you first started writing the Templeton Cove series – did you see this as a trilogy, quartet or a long-running series wherein you could explore different characters who would start to populate the series as it continued?

Brimble responds: It’s always been an ambition and dream of mine to write a small-town series and when I’d finished writing Finding Justice (book 1), I wasn’t ready to leave Templeton Cove so I knew I’d found a setting I wanted to explore. Next, was filling the Cove with an assortment of characters that could easily take on starring or secondary roles.

Having said that, I never imagined the series would run to eight books, but my editor and amazing readers love the series as much as me and I was more than happy to keep giving them more and more books! Read More

Posted Wednesday, 17 January, 2018 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brook Cottage Book Tours, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Women's Fiction

Author #GuestPost | feat. Erin Green who wrote another #Contemporary #ChristmasRomance Jorie is itching to be #amreading!

Posted Monday, 4 December, 2017 by jorielov A Christmas Wish, Aria Fiction, Erin Green, Head of Zeus 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

For the first time since I launched Jorie Loves A Story, I’ve been able to have a lovely sub-focus on the *Christmas!* stories which alight in our lives per annum! This year, in particular I’ve had a lovely focus on UK Contemporary Christmas Romances – as I will readily admit, I’m quite smashingly addicted to the writing styles of UK authors! I’ve had to put my #ChristmasReads on hold whilst I was participating in #RRSciFiMonth – so outside of Ms Carla Kelly’s Sweet Regency Christmas Romances, I haven’t yet come across another *favourite!* read of the Season!

Thus far, I’ve had the pleasurable joy of interviewing Ms Halton where we exchanged our Christmas family traditions inasmuch as chattering about why the holidays are special to each of us – celebrating her latest release “Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage”! Shortly thereafter, I interviewed Ms Helen Rolfe – an author I’ve followed on Twitter since she found me therein, whose released a delightful Christmassy Rom set round a knitting shoppe! Still my heart, being a girl knitty over yarn – this one definitely had my heart going a-flutter reading the premise!

Right in line with the festive glow of joy talking about stories set during Christmas I had the honour of bringing to my reader’s attention a delightfully festive bookaway fused with the Christmas spirit of ‘giving’ – whilst interviewing the author who inspired the event to happen! All of this, is continuing – as December dawns – I’ll be interchanging my Sci-Fi reads with dashes of Christmas stories, select Non-Fiction and other lovelies I’m hankering to read during this glorious time of the year.

This is the time of the year of garland and Yule; of heaps of snow & loads of family being round a tree lit and outfitted nicely with all the accompaniments of Christmastide! Where stockings are hung over hearths and a ready fire helps keep your favourite brewed in your cuppa of choice!

I am thankful to be crossing paths with #newtomeauthors who are giving me a heap of joy to host this festive season whilst finding STORIES to gather in time for next Christmas! A few of them are not yet released into paperback but the stories within their pages will be lovingly read once they are published. Today, marks my next special guest, of whom I offered to write a Guest Post Essay in lieu of an Interview – this novel is set in an attractive ‘small towne’ (if you might recall, Small Towne Fiction is amongst my favourites to be reading!) where you can quite literally re-invent yourself and/or find a new beginning. Small townes are glorious for either occasions as much as they offer something quite lovely outside of a ‘big metropolis’ where you can lose your thoughts as much as your sanity for the chaos you endure.

Remember to give me a nod towards what your reading this Christmas & holiday season – especially if you know of a Contemporary or Historical Christmas Rom you feel might whet a thirst of interest for me to be reading right now! Til then, I hope you’ve been enjoying my series of Christmas Guest Features as we welcome Winter into our hearts & let the holidays sweep us up into their Yuletide blessings! Merry meet, dear hearts!

A Christmas Wish

Flora Phillips has an excuse for every disaster in her life; she was abandoned as a new-born on a doorstep one cold autumn night, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Her philosophy is simple: if your mother doesn't want you – who will?

Now a thirty-year-old, without a boyfriend, a career or home she figures she might as well tackle the biggest question of them all – who is she? So, whilst everyone else enjoys their Christmas Eve traditions, Flora escapes the masses and drives to the village of Pooley to seek a specific doorstep. Her doorstep.
But in Pooley she finds more than her life story. She finds friends, laughter, and perhaps even a love to last a lifetime. Because once you know where you come from, it's so much easier to know where you're going.

A story of redemption and love, romance and Christmas dreams-come-true, the perfect novel to snuggle up with this festive season.

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781788541077

on 19th October, 2017

Guest Post Topic I asked of Ms Green:

Did you fashion the community of Pooley after a particular towne you’ve visited or did you want to craft a setting where someone could unexpectedly ‘put their life back to rights’ such as how Flora is needing to do with her own affairs – thus, creating an ‘unexpected’ locale where second chances are possible? What inspired you most as you created Pooley to give readers the sense of wonder Flora feels herself?

Flora’s Pooley is based on the town of Atherstone, Warwickshire, it is a small town which once boasted a vibrant hatting industry. It’s suggested that Lewis Carroll fashioned the Mad Hatter from ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ on the hatting-workers of the area as they were systematically poisoned by the mercury used for felt making. The Market Square comprising of a beautiful church, large stone archway and cobbles was the perfect setting for Flora’s story. The village name Pooley comes from another quaint village in Warwickshire, which used to boast a thriving coal mine and brick yard, near to where I grew up. The village of Pooley was once home to the American soul singer Edwin Starr, prior to his death. I simply merged, and fictionalised, the two villages to create a perfect backdrop.

Posted Monday, 4 December, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brook Cottage Book Tours, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Women's Fiction