Category: 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

Author Interview | Featuring a new Christmassy series by Helen J. Rolfe starting with “Christmas at the Little Knitting Box”!

Posted Wednesday, 29 November, 2017 by jorielov Christmas at the Little Knitting Box, Helen J. Rolfe, Self Published, Snowflakes and Mistletoe at the Inglenook Inn 0 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Remember when I shared recently: I’m a bit ahead of the curve in regards to my annual tradition of ‘Holiday Reading’ queues! I’ve already begun to share my experiences reading Holiday Romances – curled up inside the Regency through Ms Carla Kelly’s visions of Sweet Romance whilst tucking into a small towne for a short spell in Contemporary times! I have other stories planned as November leans into December and before Twelfth Night arrives in January! 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!

You could also say, I’ve happily sorted out a few new stories to showcase this year set during the Christmas Season – this is my second interview, as my first was for Ms Halton, of whom I found out we shared an amazingly similar background full of the bliss of Christmas memories & the connectedness of close-knit families!

I get quite giddy whenever I browse through the Authors I am following on Twitter – of whom I’ve placed on my “Authors Keen to Read” List and/or are randomly found whilst browsing the twitterverse – some of these authors are writing Christmas and/or Wintry stories I find most fascinating – most of which I must confess are being published in the UK! I am finding each year I am blogging, more of the stories I am personally seeking are coming from British authors! Not always, but there is something to be said for the fact most of the stories are also set in the UK!

The author I am interviewing today crossed my path awhile ago on Twitter – she’s actually one of the Authors on my List to be read – a list which has grown in four years to nearly *700!* authors! I was quite gobsmacked realising this – as I thought for sure it was under that mark by at least 300! It’s my intention of course to make a dent in the number of authors who are left ‘unread’ each year, but the past several years, you can see I’ve only been able to ‘add’ rather than ‘subtract’.

When I read the premise on behalf of this novel, being a knitter, I felt like the author had captured something I have been seeking in Knitty Fiction! I’ve tried reading most of the stories published set in yarn shoppes or from knitting circle POVs – most are very well-known novels, yet I never could feel myself attached inside them. Something felt ‘off’ or just didn’t seem my cuppa tea – as I read about this story-line and then, joyfully realised the series was taking off quite quickly thereafter – I thought perhaps, I finally can settle into some crafty backlit stories by an author who can write a series which hold’s my attention!

As I interviewed the author, we’re all celebrating the 1st Birthday of the novel whilst acknowledging the sequel is being released this Christmas & Holiday Season! Isn’t that smashing!? I thought so!

The series shifts perspectives – it starts with a yarn shoppe & the sequel takes us into innkeeping – something else I’ve always have loved: Bed & Breakfast’s!! As I showcase both novels in this series today, I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation which flowed between Ms Rolfe and myself! Due know, this is one series I look forward to picking up and reading as soon as I’m able too! Before you read our convo, make sure you have your favourite brew in a cuppa to keep you company!

Christmas at the Little Knitting Box
Subtitle: A heartwarming Romance for Christmas

Christmas is coming and New York is in full swing for the snowy season. But at The Little Knitting Box in the West Village, things are about to change …
The Little Knitting Box has been in Cleo’s family for nearly four decades, and since she arrived fresh off the plane from the Cotswolds four years ago, Cleo has been doing a stellar job of running the store. But instead of an early Christmas card in the mail this year, she gets a letter that tips her world on its axis.

Dylan has had a tumultuous few years. His marriage broke down, his mother passed away and he’s been trying to pick up the pieces as a stay-at-home dad. All he wants this Christmas is to give his kids the home and stability they need. But when he meets Cleo at a party one night, he begins to see it’s not always so easy to move on and pick up the pieces, especially when his ex seems determined to win him back.

When the snow starts to fall in New York City, both Cleo and Dylan realise life is rarely so black and white and both of them have choices to make. Will Dylan follow his heart or his head? And will Cleo ever allow herself to be a part of another family when her own fell apart at the seams?

Full of snow, love and the true meaning of Christmas, this novel will have you hooked until the final page.

Places to find the book:

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 978-1540764829

on 13th December, 2016

Christmas Romances have a particular niche of joy in my reading life – what gives you the most happiness in creating a story set round such a joyous time of the year? What do you love most about setting lives and hearts in sync during the holiday season?

Rolfe responds: I love reading Christmas romances as well as watching movies with holiday themes. I think it can be a very special time of the year, a stressful occasion for some, and the time when true feelings are often put on the line whether it’s a declaration of love, the revelation of a secret or people pulling together in times of need. Setting books in the holiday season is really exciting because I get to experience a lot of Christmas and I hope people can delve into my stories and fall in love with the characters.

I think you have picked the best time of the year to tell stories, truly! The Christmas season is full of a lot of mirth for me – it’s one of my favourite times of the year, but it’s more than that – as we all have our own traditions, two of mine are reading the Christmas Romances & Dramas whilst trying to find time to watch the lovely Christmas movies I hold so very dear in my heart! I think stories which are character driven are my absolute favourites – I look forward to meeting yours one day! Read More

Posted Wednesday, 29 November, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Rachel's Random Resources, Reader Submitted Q&A, Women's Fiction

Blog Book Tour | “The Darkest Summer” by Rebecca J. Greenwood

Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov Cedar Fort Inc, Rebecca J. Greenwood, Sweetwater Books, The Darkest Summer 0 Comments

Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past three years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.

I received a complimentary copy of “The Darkest Summer” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I wanted to read this re-telling:

I’ve come to love the lovely niche of literary re-tellings – over the past four years, I’ve found quite a lovely array of re-inspired tales to where I must say, it is with apt curiosity I continue to seek them out! Each writer I come across has a different approach and of course, as they are each re-telling a different niche of literature – the stories themselves tend to be wholly unique and individually well-conceived for giving us new insight into a story we might already feel we understand. In this, what moved my interest to read ‘The Darkest Summer’ is how it was approaching Greek Mythos from a different port of entrance: from the story of Hades and Persephone.

I, readily admit, I am not well-versed in Greek Mythos, but I do try to seek out a new vision of the Greeks legacies whenever I can, if only to draw a step closer to understanding the Gods & Goddesses as well as the origin of the stories the Greeks left behind for us to contemplate. I have oft found the Greeks to be dearly confusing to understand – but there are some enroads being taken to bridge the gap between what I find muddling about the Greek Mythos and what I find intriguing.

Hence, why as soon as I read the premise behind this novel, I sensed I might have found not only a compelling story set in the Regency, an era I already have a passion for reading – but perhaps, in a small way, might start to understand some of the connections which were inspired by the Greeks themselves. I wasn’t sure on that score – as I wasn’t sure if this was a direct re-telling – where you can see the parallels between the two narrative arcs (ie. within the relationships themselves or in the descriptive bits of the characters) or if, the novel was more nuanced and you had to have more than a cursory knowledge of ‘who’ these lovelies were in Greek Mythos to be able to fully understand the route in which Ms Greenwood took to tell her tale. Either way, I knew I was going to appreciate re-visiting her writings as I knew she’d make a wicked good novelist ever since I first crossed paths with her whilst she was writing Non-Fiction.

The Darkest Summer
Subtitle: Pure Romance

In this riveting retelling of the classic myth of Hades and Persephone, Lady Cora Winfield is captivated when she first meets Adam Douglas, Duke of Blackdale. Despite their attraction, Cora’s mother refuses to allow the duke to marry her. Taking matters into his own hands, the duke abducts his bride-to-be, and Cora is swept into the adventure of her lifetime. Amidst danger and thrilling uncertainty, Cora must face the reality that she is falling in love with her captor.

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781462120949

on 14th November, 2017

Pages: 294

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFort)

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

A Novella & Novel entwined:

When dutiful Lady Hester Douglas, over thirty and long on the shelf, receives word that her brother Adam, the Duke of Blackdale, has survived the Battle of Waterloo, she abandons propriety and heads to Brussels to be by his side. Her widowed minister, Mr. Alasdair Gilchrist, escorts her on the journey from Scotland into a Europe recovering from years of war.

Once she reaches her injured brother, Hester must fight to keep Adam alive and tightly guard her heart’s deepest secret—she’s been in love with Mr. Gilchrist for years.

Will the pain of being with the minister, the man she loves and can never have, distract her from her purpose? Or will she overcome the barriers of age, rank, and station, and seize the love she’s dreamt of?

The Darkest Hour is a standalone inspirational Regency romance novella, and is also a prequel to The Darkest Summer.

Converse via: #Regency + #Romance, #GreekMyths + #Retelling as well as #Persephone

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

Rebecca J. Greenwood studied visual art with a music minor at Brigham Young University. She is a multimedia artist, illustrator, comic creator, and designer with a love of stories. She has worked in publishing for the last six years. Rebecca lives in Utah with her husband, where she listens to audiobooks, cooks experimentally, has an interest in alternative health, and constantly has a new project in mind.

Website | Twitter | Pinterest

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Wednesday, 22 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 19th Century, After the Canon, Blog Tour Host, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Coming-Of Age, Compassion & Acceptance of Differences, Debut Novel, England, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Drama, Family Life, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, Indie Author, Inheritance & Identity, Inspired by Stories, Life Shift, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Multi-cultural Characters and/or Honest Representations of Ethnicity, PTSD, Re-Told Tales, Realistic Fiction, Scotland, Sisterhood friendships, Story in Diary-Style Format, Sweet Romance, The London Season, the Regency era

#ChocLitSaturdays | Book Review “Emma: There’s No Turning Back” (Book No. 2 of Emma series) by Linda Mitchelmore

Posted Saturday, 18 November, 2017 by jorielov ChocLitUK, Emma series, Emma: There's No Turning Back, Linda Mitchelmore 0 Comments

Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):

I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by characters written honestly whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read!

I am always seeking relationship-based romance which strikes a chord within my mind’s eye as well as my heart! I’m a romantic optimist, and I love curling into a romance where I can be swept inside the past, as history becomes lit alive in the fullness of the narrative and I can wander amongst the supporting cast observing the principal characters fall in love and sort out if they are a proper match for each other!

I love how an Indie Publisher like ChocLitUK is such a positive alternative for those of us who do not identify ourselves as girls and women who read ‘chick-lit’. I appreciate the stories which alight in my hands from ChocLit as much as I appreciate the inspirational romances I gravitate towards because there is a certain level of depth to both outlets in romance which encourage my spirits and gives me a beautiful story to absorb! Whilst sorting out how promote my book reviews on behalf of ChocLit, I coined the phrase “ChocLitSaturdays”, which is a nod to the fact my ChocLit reviews & features debut on ‘a Saturday’ but further to the point that on the ‘weekend’ we want to dip into a world wholly ideal and romantic during our hours off from the work week!

Acquired Book By: I am a regular reviewer for ChocLitUK, where I hand select which books in either their backlist and/or current releases I would like to read next for my #ChocLitSaturdays blog feature. As of June 2016, I became a member of the ChocLit Stars Team in tandem with being on the Cover Reveal Team which I joined in May 2016. I reference the Stars as this is a lovely new reader contribution team of sending feedback to the publisher ahead of new book releases. As always, even if I’m involved with a publisher in this sort of fashion, each review is never influenced by that participation and will always be my honest impression as I read the story. Whether the author is one I have previously read or never had the pleasure to read until the book greets my shelf.

I received a complimentary copy of “Emma: There’s No Turning Back” from ChocLit in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Why I am enjoying reading this series:

I was so happily caught up in the tides of this novel; of how it’s told and of how it explored so many different layers of sociological behaviour. You have a lot of joy greeting you in this novel – the setting is lush and happily resplendent of living against the salt of the sea whilst the characters are fully alive and fleshed out to walk straight off the inked pages. You feel the emotional depths of Emma’s pain and the well of uncertainty rising inside Seth intermixed with the duties Matthew is entrusted to hide from public view. It’s a dramatic suspense – full of heart and the choices everyone must make to live a life of honour or deceit.

I simply hope as I progress through the series, I shall be greeted by more of what I found inside ‘To Turn Full Circle’ where the hope of tomorrow lingers on the unspoken prayers of today. Where people can find ways to turn their life around even if their circumstances become shattered overnight and where second chances are not too hard fought to be acquired. I look forward to seeing where Ms Mitchelmore takes the Emma series and of seeing how Emma continues to mature into her skin to be the Emma we all can see in the teenage version of herself. This was such a lovely novel to devour because it’s of a tender romance and of a crossroads of one young woman’s life which will determine the rest of her days.

-quoted from my review of To Turn Full Circle

When I first read the first installment of this series, I was captured by how Michelmore set the pacing of the novel to progress forward through Emma’s journey. It is hard to believe nearly a year has transpired since I first read To Turn Full Circle – I still feel close to where I left Emma. I was dearly curious how Emma would make her transitions and how in the end, Emma might find a bit more happiness in her life than she had previously felt untouched by. It’s a captivating drama – with a strong heroine and a beautiful backdrop of scenery.

Initially, I had intended to confine my readings of this over a weekend, as I started reading this a week ago (11th November) – however, I’ve had a recent bout of illness – stemming out of my last migraine (during the week of Halloween), which has not allowed me the regular focus I enjoy whilst reading. Sometimes, I find, I just need a bit more time to recover after feeling unwell – thereby, my readings a week ago were a bit hit or miss – I was focusing on three stories (which I had tweeted) trying to find my feet again in literature. Thereby, I am stretching what I began on one weekend into a second week which blessedly I am hopeful will resolve the angst’s of the past few weeks where my health has been a bit on a downturn. I know there are others who are struggling with illnesses right now, too, as it’s that particular time of the year where illness can grab a hold of you quite firmly. I’ve also noticed I’ve been trying to fend off a second migraine – sometimes, health-wise you have a few more woes than you feel you can muddle through!

I will be focusing on quite a few ChocLit novels after my readings of Emma: There’s No Turning Back – as I am finally able to read the trifecta of Spooktastic Reads I had originally planned to read the last week of October when my migraine first arrived: The Secret Kiss of Darkness (Friday), The Highwayman’s Daughter (#ChocLitSaturdays) and The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight (Sunday). This week, is surely going to be a wicked sweet one as I curl up inside ChocLit novels which always have a way of giving me a lot of joy to consume!

Emma
Subtitle: There's No Turning Back

It isn’t easy to look forward when the past is so close behind you

Life hasn’t always been kind to Emma Le Goff. She has had her fair share of hardship and now finally, her life appears to be looking up. She and her childhood sweetheart, Seth Jago, are set to marry and both believe that an idyllic existence, free from heartache, awaits them.

However, when they discover that the past is more difficult to forget than they could have ever imagined, Emma continues to be haunted by the mysterious circumstances surrounding her family, and Seth is hounded by a jealous ex-lover set on revenge.

Seth plans for their escape to Canada, but when the charismatic Matthew Caunter returns to Devon, Emma finds herself uncertain of whether a move to Canada is really what she wants…

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

Book Page on World Weaver Press

ISBN: 978-1781890936

on 1st March, 2014

Pages: 356

Published by: ChocLitUK (@ChocLituk)

Available Formats: Paperback, Audiobook, Large Print & E-Book

The Emma Series:

Book One: To Turn Full Circle (see also Review)

Book Two: Emma: There’s No Turning Back

Book Three: Emma and her Daughter (Synopsis)

Converse via: #HistRom + #ChocLit

About Linda Mitchelmore

Linda has had over two hundred short stories published worldwide. She has also won many short story writing competitions – Woman’s Own, Woman & Home and Writespace to name but three. In 2004, Linda was awarded The Katie Fforde Bursary by the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and has a story in their 50th Anniversary Anthology. Linda also won Short Story Radio Romance Prize 2010. Having started her writing career doing a short story course with Writing Magazine, she has now come full circle and is a preliminary judge for their short story competitions. Linda lives in Devon and is married with two grown-up children.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Posted Saturday, 18 November, 2017 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Bootleggers & Smugglers, Britian, British Literature, Brothers and Sisters, Chefs and Sous Chefs, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Cookery, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Domestic Violence, England, Green-Minded Publishers, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Life Shift, Modern British Author, Modern British Literature, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Siblings, Singletons & Commitment, Small Towne Fiction, Suspense, the Nineteen Hundreds

Author Interview | Jorie happily welcomes Ms Linn B. Halton to #JLASblog to converse about her lovely new #HolidayRomance: “Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage”!

Posted Thursday, 16 November, 2017 by jorielov Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage, Harper Impulse, HarperCollinsUK, Linn B. Halton 2 Comments

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Christmas is nearly upon us and for once, I’m a bit ahead of the curve in regards to my annual tradition of ‘Holiday Reading’ queues! I’ve already begun to share my experiences reading Holiday Romances – curled up inside the Regency through Ms Carla Kelly’s visions of Sweet Romance whilst tucking into a small towne for a short spell in Contemporary times! I have other stories planned as November leans into December and before Twelfth Night arrives in January! 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’ve known about Ms Halton’s fiction for a short bit of time, as I am a reviewer of ChocLitUK – she’s written two stories with them: “A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love” & “A Little Luck, A Lot of Fate”. The latter is still Digital First, however, the first novel is also released into print – I’ve had my eye on her stories to read, as I liked the premise of the first one. Therefore, when I spied this new release of her’s with a Christmas premise, I couldn’t wait to host her on Jorie Loves A Story! I am thankful I’ve been reviewing for ChocLit, as it’s the first way in which my path crossed with her writings!

As I was setting up my conversation with Ms Halton, I wanted to talk about the story & characters but being it’s set at Christmastime, I also wanted to include a few extra bits which happily would encompass my *favourite!* time of the year! There is something quite extraordinary about Christmas – the season of mirth & joy, where most spirits are lifted & joyous during this particular time of the year! It’s also the time I *love!* to binge watch all the lovelies on television (when I have cable, that is!) – especially the light-hearted Christmas Roms on Hallmark Channel and others stations which air the lovelies I’ve loved seeing from the 80s through the 21st Century! Blessedly, I have quite a few on dvd – which makes retreating back into my fond memories of those movies a dash of merriment ahead of my own celebrations!

I have the tendency to go between watching Christmas films and/or holiday seasonal films (ie. dramas, comedies, romances or mini-series) to reading them! I love curling up inside the stories which celebrate how Autumn folds into Winter – of how the Earth cycles through it’s new chapter where frost and snow overtake the natural world. It’s a refreshing time of the year where the wrath of Summer is a faded memory and where you feel alive in your bones simply for the reprieve of humidity! Each year, I try to find a few new authors & their stories to knit inside – of making my own route of festive cheer through literary worlds!

Hopefully, as you alight into our conversation, you’ll be able to get a better feel for the story itself whilst finding out a bit more about Ms Halton and myself in the process! Remember, to leave your commentary & questions for the author in the threads below this post! Here’s wishing you & yours a very merrily festive holiday season!

Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage
by Linn B. Halton, Ms Linn B. Halton

The countdown to Christmas is usually a magical time, but Elena James is fed up with living on a building site! The renovations on her beautiful cottage – like her heart – have been frozen in limbo ever since she was unexpectedly widowed.

Elana calls in a professional, Luke Stevenson, to help finish the cottage, so her little girl can send letters to Santa up the newly-repaired chimney. Luke’s kind, capable and sexy – but he’s also ten years younger than Elana. So why has her heart decided it’s finally time for a thaw?

Genres: Christmas Story &/or Christmas Romance, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Contemporary Romance

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-0008261290

Also by this author: Coming Home to Penvennan Cove

Published by Harper Impulse

on 3rd November, 2017

Published By: Harper Impulse (@HarperImpulse)

an imprint of HarperCollinsUK

Christmas in the Country Series

A Cottage in the Country | Book One | (Synopsis)

Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage | Book Two

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

Converse via: #HolidayRomance, #ChristmasRomance + #HolidayReads or #ChristmasReads

Extract from ‘Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage’
provided by the author Linn B. Halton and is being used with permission.

‘Mum, can we light the log fire tonight?’ Maya looks up at me with eager eyes.

‘I think we should wait until the weekend, darling. There isn’t really time to appreciate it on a school night, is there? Besides, I’m not even sure whether there are any logs left in the store. I promise to get it sorted as soon as I can.’

It was Niall’s job, sorting the fire. He would have booked the chimney sweep in early autumn and had the logs all ready and waiting, stacked neatly against the back wall of the garage. Ironically, last year I was much more organised. I suppose it was one of my coping mechanisms during those raw, early weeks and months. Keep going; keep doing something – anything, so I didn’t have to listen to what was in my head. But I feel bad. Maya will remember that this time last year we spent every evening huddled together on the sofa in front of the fire, reading. Hour upon hour we escaped into alternative worlds inspired by some wonderful authors. Roald Dahl’s Matilda, E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, and Maya’s favourite, Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch, a story of tenderness and triumph.

It was the very worst of times, but I focused on getting us through it one day at a time. My gut instinct, immediately after the accident, had been to sell the cottage just to escape that prevailing sense that something was missing. Niall was no longer here and it would never, ever be the same again. But soon realisation dawned that Maya needed a sense of continuity; the memories trapped within these walls were a lifeline for her, although a cruelly painful reminder for me. In a way she feels her dad is still here and I can’t take that away from her.

What inspires you to set Romances round the Christmastide & holiday season? What draws your eye towards this Season as being one which benefits from uplifting stories of Romance?

Halton responds: For me Christmas is the highlight of the year and it always has been since I was a very young child. I believe there is always a little ‘Christmas’ magic in the air during the holidays because it’s a time of goodwill.

When you have a family so much time goes into the preparation leading up to the big day and the holiday surrounding it, that it is a real labour of love. It isn’t about how much you spend, but about the time spent trimming the house, cooking up a storm in the kitchen and making sure no one is forgotten.

And it’s a time to buy little presents to give to people who touch our lives in some way and deserve a little thank you – like the postman, a teacher or the local delivery guy! But also the neighbour who doesn’t seem to get many visitors – a card and a tin of biscuits delivered by hand is the perfect excuse to stop by and have a little chat.

It’s a season full of love … so you don’t have to look far to find romance and that’s why I always love it when I can fit in a Christmas novel! Read More

Posted Thursday, 16 November, 2017 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Brook Cottage Book Tours, Reader Submitted Q&A, Women's Fiction

Category: Women’s Fiction

A Novella & Novel entwined:

About Rebecca J. Greenwood

Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features) and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):

I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by characters written honestly whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read!

About Linda Mitchelmore

Why I feature #ChocLitSaturdays (book reviews & guest author features)
and created #ChocLitSaturday (the chat via @ChocLitSaturday):