Category: Book | Novel Extract

Book Spotlight | Featuring notes by Jorie and an extract from “The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out” (Spitfire Girl series) by Fenella J Miller

Posted Sunday, 12 April, 2020 by jorielov Aria Fiction, Head of Zeus, Spitfire Girl series, The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I am wicked delighted to be featuring a lovely #newtomeauthor today – as I recently had the chance to select quite a few Head of Zeus and Aria Fiction novelists to be spotlighting throughout the Spring months this year – wherein I was rather delighted finding so many keenly interesting stories to start seeking out to read! These are stories which dance between Romance & Women’s Fiction – from Contemporary to Historical settings. Being an avid reader of these genres I couldn’t miss the chance to bring the JOY of discovering these lovely authors to my readers of Jorie Loves A Story!

It is my intention to start requesting these novels via my local library if they are not available in audio formats via Scribd. At the moment my library is experiencing an unprecedented sabbatical on requests which put me in a bit of a pickle as I’m an active patron whose constantly requesting purchases every month – which is why I’m simply saving my queue lists and will turn them in once the services resume. For now at least – I can champion the discoveries and the joy of finding the stories whilst hosting the blog tours!

Why I wanted to host a spotlight & extract
for “The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out”:

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!

My first interest in reading and/or listening to an audiobook story about Spitfire Girls was interested by the release by Soraya M. Lane which was “The Spitfire Girls”. You might recall I have previously spotlighted Ms Lane’s novels whilst I also hosted her during #SatBookChat. I was meant to share a review of an mp3 audiobook version of her novel “The Girls of Pearl Harbour” however my personal health during a six month block of time from Autumn 2019 to Spring 2020 prevented me continuing to finish the novel until now. It is one of the stories I have requeued to finish this April.

I decided to see if one of the novels from this series (or the whole series really!) was available via Scribd and I was pleasantly surprised to find the first book “The Spitfire Girl” was listed!

The narrator for this novel is Sarah Ovens.

We first begin by having a smart introduction to the scene as it unfolds – Ellie has just returnt home from work at the airfield – her brother is on a 24 hour pass and her parents are experiencing the rougher edges of a marriage which most likely should have ended in either separation or divorce; theirs was not a happy union. Ellie looked the part with her coveralls and the kind of shine a girl would have working all day – a conflict for her mother who’d prefer a girl who looked less like a bloke and more dainty like herself.

You could feel the disapproving eye in Ellie’s mother – however, the joy for Ellie was the fact her brother was home, the fact he brought a friend notwithstanding and having to change for dinner was as much of a chore for Ellie as it were for her father! They both had a smart exchange before moving into their respective rooms – by the time we rejoined the brother and the mother, the sampler was nearly expiring and I felt it was quite a shame as I was already keenly locked into the drama as it was unfolding! Proving how thankful I am for samplers and how much I truly admire the work of narrators to bring to life the work of an author.

In regards to the narrator directly:

I found Ms Oven’s narration to be a smashingly classic voice for this kind of Saga – there is a particularly familiar intonation by narrators whose voices come from similar regions and as soon as I heard her voice narrating this story, I felt immediately drawn to Ellie and her family! I liked how she altered her voice between the genders – how her voice felt assured as a male and strong as a woman – the men of course in the story have quite a bit to contend with Ellie’s Mum and that of course came through by how she was narrating their parts. Her father seemed resigned to it and her brother was a bit more optimistic but Ellie herself was voiced with resignation at not wanting to humour her Mum; in any capacity! I was jolly happy with the sampler and was keen curious to finish off the story – as you just feel pulled into it!

Did I grab your eye and attention?

Sound like the kind of bookish read you’ve been needing?

Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this extract from the novel.

The Spitfire Girl: Over and Out
Subtitle: Is Ellie ready to fly one last time?
by Fenella J. Miller

All's fair in love and war for First Officer Ellie as she takes to the skies yet again in the final installment of Fenella Miller's Spitfire Girl series.

1943, White Waltham.

As Italy surrenders and victory looms on the horizon, Ellie's doing what she does best – flying. And this time, she's rising to the sky in four-engined Halifaxes. Determined to keep doing her bit, Ellie's successes in the airfield mount but so do tensions with her new beau, Squadron Leader Jack Reynolds.

When Ellie and Jack find their dream home, they discover they've bought more than they bargained for. With a cellar full of secrets, Jack and Ellie must stand united in the face of mystery, war and loss. And as family circumstance threatens to tear them apart, Ellie and Jack are stronger than ever.

Genres: Historical Fiction, War Drama, Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B0844S8B64

Published by Aria Fiction

on 19th March, 2020

The Spitfire Girl series:

The Spitfire Girl (Book One)

The Spitfire Girl in the Skies (Book Two)

A Wedding for the Spitfire Girl (Book Three)

The Spitfire Girl: Over & Out (Book Four) ← final installment!

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

Available Formats: This is a Digital First Release

Converse via: #TheSpitfireGirl, #HistoricalFiction or #HistFic Read More

Posted Sunday, 12 April, 2020 by jorielov in Aftermath of World War II, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Head of Zeus, Historical Fiction, War Drama, Women's Fiction

Book Spotlight | Featuring notes by Jorie and an extract from “Home to the Hills” by Dee Yates

Posted Friday, 27 March, 2020 by jorielov Aria Fiction, Dee Yates, Head of Zeus, Home to the Hills 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Why I wanted to host a spotlight & extract
for “Home to the Hills”:

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 have had a penchant of interest regarding war dramas for quite a long while now – however, my interest in reading them has altered slightly from the kinds I used to read in the past. I have been purposely trying to seek out stories about the homefront and/or stories set round a particular set of circumstances a character must overcome rather than strictly seeking out war dramas which are focusing more on the battle of the war itself. I felt for awhile I needed to re-address how I wanted to read war dramas as a lot of the time, whenever I would try to tuck into a traditional war drama – I would start to notice myself pulling out of the context of the setting as I felt I had finally reached the apex of no return.

Being that I still *love!* reading stories set during the war era, I’ve happily re-affirmed this love of fiction by re-finding stories which are an joy to be read. This is how I came to find Home to the Hills which I felt had a very inspiring premise in which I could enjoy getting invested into reading. Especially as this novel is set just after the war ended – of how people had to pick up their lives, forge ahead and find a way to re-define how they were going to live now that peacetime had become restored. You can feel the intensity of their choices – how determined they were to survive in this new environment but also, how heartwarming it would be to realise that they had to begin anew – without knowing what the future would yield.

Did I grab your eye and attention?

Sound like the kind of bookish read you’ve been needing?

Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this extract from the novel.

Home to the Hills
Subtitle: After the war, they must start afresh
by Dee Yates

1945.

After the Second World War, Ellen and her daughter Netta make the journey from Germany back to Scotland. Nestled in the hills of the Southern Uplands is the farm where Ellen grew up – the home she left to be with the only man she's ever loved. She is still haunted by her memories... and the secrets she dare not share with anyone.

Having grown up in Freiburg, farm life is new and exciting to Netta. Determined to be useful, she offers to help new shepherd, Andrew Cameron. But doing so might put her bruised heart at risk... The war took so much from Ellen and Netta. But maybe now the sanctuary of the hills can offer them the hope of a new beginning.

A heartwrenching Scottish saga, perfect for fans of Sheila Jeffries and Katie Flynn.

Genres: Historical Fiction, War Drama, Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B0844S8B64

Published by Aria Fiction

on 19th March, 2020

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

Available Formats: This is a Digital First Release

Converse via: #HomeToTheHills, #HistoricalFiction or #HistFic Read More

Posted Friday, 27 March, 2020 by jorielov in Aftermath of World War II, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Head of Zeus, Historical Fiction, War Drama, Women's Fiction

Book Spotlight | Featuring notes by Jorie and an extract from “Starting Over at Acorn Cottage” by Kate Forster

Posted Saturday, 21 March, 2020 by jorielov Aria Fiction, Head of Zeus, Kate Forster, Starting Over At Acorn Cottage 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Why I wanted to host a spotlight & extract
for “Starting Over at Acorn Cottage”:

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 *definitely!* feel drawn to plots which evolve through a lens of ‘new beginnings and second chances’ – there is a lot of hope inside those kinds of stories. Especially of how characters are striving to seek a different way of life and/or want to find a way to restart their path somewhere else. Having had the joys of living in different environments throughout my life – knowing the excitement of a high paced city and the slower pacing of a country setting – I can attest there is a bit of unexpected reprieve in being able to find yourself ‘elsewhere’ than where you might expect to find happiness. As both settings provide their own joys but its the loveliness of exchanging one for the other where you can discover the most about yourself.

*laughs!* I also have a soft spot for stories which remind me of “Under the Tuscan Sun” – where there is this seemingly *large!* reno project that is going to take half of forever to resolve and as you’re watching the character go through those hours & moments, life has resumed for them in uniquely different ways. It is the ending of that film (which yes, I realise was a book as well but I never read it) which has the best capstone of the story – how even when you think you’re life hasn’t resolved in a way you had projected or hoped – things have a way of being brought into your life in a way which renews your faith in serendipity. Which is the best way I can describe the ending without having it spoilt for someone who hasn’t yet seen it!

Reading the premise of this novel feels like a cuppa of comfort – just to tuck close to Clara and observe how she’s going to react to all the unexpected joys awaiting her as she undertakes the renovation of the cottage which of course most likely will serve as a renovation of her life!

Did I grab your eye and attention?

Sound like the kind of bookish read you’ve been needing?

Be sure to brew your favourite cuppa and enjoy this extract from the novel.

Starting Over At Acorn Cottage
by Kate Forster

Buying a thatched cottage in the country may not be the usual cure for a broken heart. But after Clara Maxwell finds out her boyfriend and best friend have been sneaking around behind her back, packing her bags and leaving everything in London behind feels like it's the only way forward.

Clara knew Acorn Cottage would be a fixer-upper... Yet in person, the cottage is less charmingly ramshackle and more a real health and safety concern. When Henry Garnett, her (rather handsome) new contractor, turns up with his little daughter Pansy and a van shaped like a cottage in tow, she isn't sure whether to laugh or cry. What on earth has she gotten herself into?!

Still, there is something strangely lovable about the people in the little village of Merryknowe, from Rachel Brown, the quiet, lonely girl who bakes magical confections for the tearooms, to Tassie McIver, a little old lady with a lot of wisdom and a penchant for reading tea leaves. And Clara can't deny that Henry and Pansy are quickly worming their way into her heart...

With all the heartbreak of the year behind her, could Acorn Cottage be the fresh start Clara so desperately wants?

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Women's Fiction

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ASIN: B083NZMXH3

Also by this author: Finding Love at Mermaid Terrace

Published by Aria Fiction

on 19th March, 2020

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

Available Formats: This is a Digital First Release

Converse via: #StartingOverAtAcornCottage, #Contemporary #WomensFiction Read More

Posted Saturday, 21 March, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Head of Zeus, Women's Fiction

#FuellYourSciFi Series Spotlight | featuring an Extract and Notes by Jorie about the Suzy Spitfire series by Joe Canzano

Posted Friday, 20 March, 2020 by jorielov Happy Joe Control Books, Joe Canzano, Suzy Spitfire Kills Everybody, Suzy Spitfire series 1 Comment

What truly attracted me to read #SuzySpitfire:

I’ve been battling my health off/on since Autumn – specifically in a weird alternating war with my migraines & month-long colds (uniquely enough!) wherein as soon as I *knew!* Spring was about to descend on my region of the country (as the robins in the area sent up the signal of acknowledging that directly!) – a telling truth emerged, my horrid pollen allergies were going to flare and be the ‘new bane’ of my contention! Not the best year for experiencing them either (if you catch my drift) as no one is going to say “ooh wow – sorry for your *allergies!*” as they’re going to think I have something entirely different; *le sigh*.

Whilst this weird dance between migraines & colds was occupying the past six months of my life I was truly struggling as a reader to just *connect!* to stories, enjoy the books as they were coming into my postbox to review and otherwise find contended joy in the adventures of reading. My whole rhythm of reading was simply ‘off’ and I was at a proper loss how to restablised it! The #JaneAustensDragons series helped a wee bit in that regard and a few other stories as well – however, I was hoping that I’d have more ‘good days’ reading than feeling either horridly fatigued or just disinterested in picking up a book.

The turnround started coming when I became an influencer for both the Once Upon A Book Club and the Crime Fiction Book Box companies as let’s face it – for a reader whose experiencing a downspin rut of interest, #bookmail is one surefire way to reignite her JOY. Its the beauty of the unexpected and the fact I was a correspondent via postal mail for most of my life – there is just sheer #randomJOY in receiving (and of course, sending!) mail – I just get giddy over opening parcels & letters alike! And, in a smaller way #WitchAThon and #MiddleGradeMarch have become balms to my weathered soul.

I heart #SciFiMonth | #RRSciFiMonth every November – but the last several years have been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Mostly as my migraines seem to derail *all!* efforts to read the stories I’ve selected for the month (see also this annoucement from 2019 wherein I barely touched the surface of what I disclosed) which is why I’m trying to start reading Sci Fi outside of November this year! (big smirks)

To be perfectly transparent – I was in the mood for an unlikely heroine adventuring in outer space and taking me on an adventure I didn’t realise I *needed!* in my life! lol A bit like how seeing “Star Trek: Enterprise” recently filled a need as well – we’ve just finished the fourth year and are saddened for the loss of episodes – except for 3x, one we skipped (the Detroit one) and two were just too weird for words to describe and had zero bearing on the series as a whole! (“through a glass darkly” – the mirror universe duology) I wanted to read a series COMPLETELY outside my zone of comfort – I wanted to tuck into her story and just have this wicked wild ride of reading a book which would give me a healthy respite from my backlogue, my illnesses and of course, the weight of current events! And, blessedly dear hearts – #SuzySpitfire filled that void for me!

As soon as I happily read the pitch about this series by Kimberly @ Caffeniated PR, I just *knew!* I had to sign on to spotlight #SuzySpitfire! This also marks my first blog tour with her blog touring company and I couldn’t be happier! I look forward to continuing my adventure with Suzy Spitfire this weekend but for now, let’s take a bit of a closer look at what you can expect to find in the sequel “Suzy Spitfire and the Snake Eyes of Venus!” – by the by, is it me or does this series have the most brilliant titles!?

Suzy Spitfire Kills And the Snake Eyes of Venus (Spotlight)
by Joe Canzano
Source: Author via Caffeinated PR

When outlaw Suzy Spitfire flies to Venus in search of a vicious serial killer, she’s looking for the road to redemption—but instead, she quickly becomes involved in a gang war, a revolution, and a desperate attempt to protect a young girl from a violent fate. Join Suzy Spitfire and her friends for another wild ride through the solar system!

*NOTE:* This is the second Suzy Spitfire novel but works as a standalone.

Genres: Action & Adventure Fiction, Science Fiction, Space Opera

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0990636588

Also by this author: Suzy Spitfire Kills Everybody

Also in this series: Suzy Spitfire Kills Everybody

Published by Happy Joe Control Books

on 26th January, 2020

Format: POD | Print On Demand Paperback

The suzy spitfire series:

Suzy Spitfire Kills Everybody (book one)

Suzy Spitfire And the Snake Eyes of Venus (book two)

Published by: Happy Joe Control Books

Formats Available: Trade Paperback and Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #SuzySpitfire, #ScienceFiction or #JoeCanzano

About Joe Canzano

Joe Canzano is a writer and musician. He lives in New Jersey, U.S.A., in a house with a basement where he usually stays. Occasionally he leaves the basement and visits the kitchen.

He likes to write absurd comic fantasy and fun science fiction.

Posted Friday, 20 March, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Caffeniated PR, Indie Author, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Speculative Fiction

Author Interview | In conversation discussing Titanic and setting a #HistRom inside the historical background of its living history as we converse about Jina Bacarr’s newest Historical novel “The Runaway Girl”!

Posted Thursday, 19 March, 2020 by jorielov Boldwood Books, Christmas Once Again, Jina Bacarr, The Runaway Girl 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

At the close of [2019] I had the pleasure of JOY reading a delightful war drama entitled “Christmas Once Again” – this was a time travelling Historical Romance wherein the method of travel was through the component of a ‘train’. I joyfully talked extensively about this during my #SatBookChat whilst I happily also engaged with my readers talking about the finer points of what made this Historical Romance such a beautifully evocative read! Meanwhile – it was a wicked sweet joy to highlight today’s new release “The Runaway Girl” on my #TopTenTuesday List for Most Anticipated Reads for 2020.

When it comes to reading Historical Romances – I happen to *love!* when a writer captures the truer heart and atmosphere ‘behind’ the romance wherein we get to peer into History’s window and seek out the era of the age in which these characters are alive. We get to understand the breadth of their living realities whilst gaining a foothold into how they are living their lives with the shadow of historical events behind them. Whenever a writer can intersect History with a compelling realistic #HistRom, I am definitely the kind of reader who is oft in search of their collective works because I want to consistently reside in their stories!

This is why when I first learnt about “Christmas Once Again” & “The Runaway Girl” – I knew I wanted those to be purchase requests at my local library. Not just for the joy of my own readerly pleasures but to help other patrons in my local community find inspiration out of a story I personally *loved!* absorbing! You see, I didn’t just read “Christmas Once Again” – I felt convinced I had stepped through its theshold and lived those hours as if I had inhabited the characters directly. I love feeling that pull of narrative – where you are so wholly engaged into a story it doesn’t feel fictional but a realistic impression of a life which is still being lived. Literature is powerful that way and whenever you can find Historical voices of the craft pulling us into the windows of where history and human interest stories can intersect is a wicked wonderful way to spend your readerly hours!

Thus, when I first hear a whispering about “The Runaway Girl” – of how this story was anchoured to Titanic and my own literary and science interest in Titanic – as I loved learning the real-life story of how Titanic was discovered on the ocean floor and the journey of its recovery – I knew immediately that I wanted to live inside this new novel! There is something alluring about Titanic – not the tragedy of how everyone died but how hard they fought to survive – how even in the direness of their hours as the sinking was erasing the calm of where they felt they would be embarking on a new life abroad was instead replacing it with a darkness of uncertainity – they still rallied, they fought the ocean and they tried to make peace with their fate.

At least this is what I observed and understood whilst researching Titanic and of having taking the walking exhibit where I had a third class ticket where someone had gone down with the ship. It was a harrowing walk through because of the way they told the story but also how they left you with haunting reminders of the fragilty of our lives and the uncertain balance of how we all are living with uncertain futures. A sombering contemplation on a good year and a intuitive one during a world crisis.

There is so much I love about the premise of “The Runaway Girl” and it is a pleasure of absolute for me to host my final blog tour hosted by the publisher Boldwood Books to go out with a bit of a signal boost on this novel and a wicked engaging conversation with Ms Bacarr – wherein through our conversation you’ll find notations about the story, her process of writing and the allure of Historical Fiction by a writer as bemused about her own stories & characters as the reader behind Jorie Loves A Story!

This marks my third of three featured posts I’ve be sharing on behalf of Boldwood Books this Spring, 2020. I recently interviewed Jessica Redland on behalf of her Whitsborough Bay series as well as having featured Rosie Clarke to begin this series.

Brew yourself a lovely cuppa

and journey back to Titanic with us today as we uncover “The Runaway Girl”!

The stories I’m keenly intrigued & excited about by Ms Bacarr:

Christmas Once Again (see also Review)

The Runaway Girl (listed as one of my Top Anticipated Reads of 2020!)

Published by: Boldwood Books (@BoldwoodBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Audiobook and Ebook

Converse via: #HistoricalRomance or #HistRom
as well as #Titanic and #JinaBacarr

Posted Thursday, 19 March, 2020 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Spotlight, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance Fiction