#Blog Tour #Book Review #The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery by Su Young Lee @rararesources @Su Young Lee

Thank to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery, a clean and wholesome romance.

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery

Fluttering cherry blossoms, gorgeous kimonos and sweet and sorrowful love.

For cake-loving college girl Hana, Japan was the romantic destination of her dreams. With boyfriend Jin she planned an exciting new life in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. But when she finally arrives after months of planning, Jin isn’t there. 

Hana is left broken-hearted on a rainy Tokyo street. Jin left no note. One day he just walked out of classes and disappeared. 

Hana begins her new life alone. Watching cherry blossoms fall into the Tokyo river. Working hard and delivering her lovely home-baked cakes by orange bicycle. Then she meets handsome young farmer Hikaru, and glimpses a new way forward – in an alien place where she doesn’t know a soul.

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery is a sweet romance with a hint of magic realism. It’s a perfect book to carry with you and read on holiday or weekends.

Purchase Links
Amazon US here / Amazon UK here

My thoughts:


The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery was such a delightful read, sweet, delicate, a perfect combination of a coming of age story and romance. Food descriptions are such an essential part of this book that any reader who loves carefully choosing and trying out new dessert recipes would feel in heaven.

Hana (I just love her name- ‘unique’ in Korean and ‘Flower’ in Japanese, both of which fit perfectly this very special girl) comes to Tokyo to visit her boyfriend Jin who went there to study Business Management. Jin hasn’t been in touch with her for two months and, understandably, Hana feels worried. Although she speaks only very basic Japanese and has little money in her savings account, Hana embarks on a journey that will change her life.


Once in Tokyo, she finds out Jin left Japan with no forward mail address or any kind of hint where he might be. Yet, our loyal Hana is determined to wait for him. Perhaps he is in a dire situation and will call her for help. Meanwhile, she finds a school to help her improve her Japanes language skills, a place to live and a part-time job. She also buys a cute orange bicycle with a little basket to put her shopping in.


Slowly, Hana begins to make friends and weave her magic of changing other people’s lives for better with her gift of listening, lending a helping hand at the moment of need, showing her gratitude and accepting the others as they are, and, of course, baking her delicious cakes. Hana carries her cakes in her bicycle basket with great attention, after all, they are all made with love and care for her new friends. All chapters have dessert names and you just have to read them to appreciate how much thought went into book.
For me, this is a book that deals with growing into yourself, discovering what your dreams and inclinations are and following them. There is also so much focus on kindness, that might manifest itself in both giving and accepting help and making somebody feel loved and appreciated.


I would recommend this book first and foremost to anyone who loves food and learning about different cultures and also those who enjoy a sweet clean romance in a beautiful setting.

Thank you to Rachel and Su Young Lee for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author Bio

Su Young Lee is a Korean romance author who lived in Tokyo, Japan for 10 years and now lives in London, England with her husband and two lovely cats. 

Su works in academic publishing and loves baking, playing piano and working on her calligraphy.

Check her blog here. 
https://suyoungleesblog.wordpress.com

Thank you for stopping by and reading the post. If you would like to read more reviews or other promotional material for Su Young Lee’s book, please, see the full tour schedule:

Happy Sunday to everyone!

Book Blitz: The Guy from the Internet by Birdie Song @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:

The Guy From The Internet
by Birdie Song
Publication date: November 2nd 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

A sweet romance with a touch of family drama.

Holly Chee does not have her life together. She’s flip-flopped on uni courses and career choices, and somehow scared off her long-term fiancée-to-be, much to the chagrin of her immigrant parents.

But she does have her channel, where she livestreams her art from her one-bedroom Mount Lawley apartment. And she has that guy from France… assuming he’s even who he says he is.

Goodreads

Purchase
Amazon

AUTHOR BIO:
I write sweet stories about people falling in love.

Author links:
https://birdiesong.weebly.com/
https://www.facebook.com/birdiesongauthor
https://birdiesongauthor.blogspot.com/
https://subscribepage.com/birdiesong

GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

  • $10 Amazon gift card

rafflecopter

Have a great weekend!

#Blog Tour #Book Review #Spider Hunting by K.J.McGillick @rararesources

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for this exciting legal thriller-espionage story!

Spider Hunting

It’s never what it seems.

A murder of a high-profile law partner on a Manhattan street should have made the front page of the news. And yet it didn’t. Drew Bradley’s murder was treated as just another senseless crime and relegated to page four of the evening edition. But what if the press had been privy to the fact that the murder was actually an assassination?

As the partners at Lannister and Stewart scramble to fill the vacuum left by Drew Bradley’s sudden death, Asia Blythe, a rising star in the firm is offered his coveted position. But this golden opportunity that brings with it power, prestige, and unlimited financial rewards demands adherence to a code. A code of allegiance to the firm with no exceptions. Catapulted into the world of genetically modified designer babies and state-sponsored espionage, is Asia prepared to deal with the intrigues of a world that will threaten her life and shatter her illusions?

Purchase Links
UK  /  US

My thoughts:

I’m always up for learning something new and this book proved to be an excellent choice for dipping my toes into the genre of legal thrillers and espinage stories. I was fascinated by the plot and the relentless pace, but, above all, by the way the main character’s mind work when she tried to piece together the missing pieces of the mystery she had to solve.

Asia Blythe is a senior attorney in a prestigious legal firm. She is a hard worker and has billed staggering amounts of client fees for her company. When one of the partners stabbed in the street right in front of the office, Asia gets an offer she has been waiting for such a long time-she is invited to apply for a partnership. The only problem is that she needs to get a loan to buy her part of the equity) and she also needs to take over a few cases the murdered partner dealt with. Within a week Asia finds herself plunged into a spider web of lies, deceit, multi billion secret deals, global espionage conspiracies, and at least 6 murders!

Lawyers do get a lot of bad rep, but Asia is such a wonderful character whose charm is bound to grow on you. She has a strong moral compass and isn’t afraid to walk away from her job if necessary. The cases she is juggling keep throwing curveballs at her and Asia has to learn a lot in a very short period of time and make up her opinion about lots of issues. Luckily, She is added by her faithful secretary Sylvia and her partner Sam who is a skillful investigator, and she does need all the help she can get.

The book was so fast-paced, I was glued to the pages, until suddenly the end was there. I really liked the way my attention never wandered off the book, although some of the issues were quite difficult to grasp (cryptocurrencies?!?).

This was my first book by the author, but now that I had a taste of her writing style, I would love to read more. If you are looking for a fast, entertaining read that will make you think through some thorny ethical issues, Spider Hunting is an excellent choice.

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources and the author for the review copy provided with no expectation of a favourable review. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author Bio

K. J. McGillick was born in New York and once she started to walk she never stopped running. But that’s what New Yorker’s do. Right? A Registered Nurse, a lawyer now author.

As she evolved so did her career choices. After completing her graduate degree in nursing, she spent many years in the university setting sharing the dreams of the enthusiastic nursing students she taught. After twenty rewarding years in the medical field she attended law school and has spent the last twenty-four years as an attorney helping people navigate the turbulent waters of the legal system. Not an easy feat. And now? Now she is sharing the characters she loves with readers hoping they are intrigued by her twisting and turning plots and entertained by her writing

Social Media Links –
https://www.facebook.com/KJMcGillickauthor/
Kathleen McGillick
@KJMcGillickAuth
http://www.kjmcgillick.com/
https://twitter.com/KJMcGillickAuth

If you would like to see what other bloggers thought of this thriller, here is the full blog tour schedule:

Thank you for reading the post! Have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend!!

#Book Tour #And Then She Shines by Helen Libby #Guest Post @rararesources

 Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources  for invititng me to participate in the blog tour for this sweet collection.

And Then She Shines: A Collection of Novelettes

Five women, five different issues, five ‘feel-good’ reads.

And Then She Shines brings together brings together four previously published novelettes, along with Helen Libby’s new story, Cassie’s Choice.

Ruby’s Secret
Can you keep a secret? All the clothes Ruby’s bought may have filled her wardrobe, but they haven’t helped her to feel fulfilled. She’s been holding back on her dream of travelling for years. And now Ruby’s in debt. A LOT of debt. She’s so ashamed. She doesn’t want anyone to know, not even her boyfriend, David. He’s so careful with money – he wouldn’t understand. Ruby’s trying to change. She wants financial stability AND a good relationship. Will she be able to resolve her debt before David discovers her secret?

Love, Anna
Stay or go? Anna’s a romantic. She loves musical theatre, but her life is a far cry from her favourite shows. When her boyfriend Joe tells her he doesn’t love her anymore, she doesn’t know what to do. Anna just wants to be loved, but Joe suffers from depression, and they’ve both been unhappy for a long time. A last minute trip to Paris gives Anna some time to reflect, and shows her whether life can ever really be like a musical.

Laura’s Embrace
“People who love me leave me.” Laura makes a New Year’s resolution – to find her birth mother. She needs answers. What she doesn’t need is a relationship, so when things start getting serious between her and Rob, she does her best to hold back. Only Rob won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and Laura is torn. Will Laura find her birth mother? And will love find a way?

Finding Ella
He knows everything about her. The only thing she knows about him is that he’s her husband. Can she fall in love with him for a second time? Ella’s lost her memory – the last ten years of her life. Her friends and family want her to slot back into place, only it’s not that easy. Will Ella’s memory return? Does she need to remember her husband in order to love him again? Join Ella on her journey of self-discovery.

Cassie’s Choice
“Something is missing from my life, and I can’t pinpoint what it is. Could it be a baby? Maybe.”
What if you think you want a child, but your partner doesn’t? It’s time for Cassie to make her mind up. Does she want a baby, or not? If she does, is she willing to leave her beloved husband, Alex, in order to start again? Can you miss something you’ve never had? Does Cassie need a baby in order to feel fulfilled? So many questions, and she’s running out of time.

Purchase Links

UK / US

Today I am very excited to present a guest post from Helen Libby in which she is going to tell us more about what inspired her to write  the book, the writing process and her plans for future:

The Novelette Project

I self-published for the first time in November 2015. It was a novelette called Out of My Debt. I followed it up with a further four novelettes between December 2015 and December 2016, and in April 2017 I put them all together in one collection (Snapshots). I added a fifth story called The ‘B’ Word, and that was that for a while as during the summer of 2017 I relocated from Buckinghamshire to Shropshire.

Once the dust had settled after the move, I concentrated on writing and self-publishing a non-fiction book about my dog. That book gave me a boost of confidence, which inspired to go back and take another look at my novelettes.

Why go back? Lack of sales, plus, if I’m being completely honest, I knew I could do better. When I first published the novelettes, I believed they were the best they could be. A few years on I could see how a few changes would greatly enhance the stories. I decided to change, at the very minimum, the titles and the covers, and to update the book blurbs. That’s one of the big plus points of being self-published, the fact you can make changes to your book listing whenever you want to.

I began with Out of My Debt, which became Ruby’s Secret. The original cover had a photograph of a loch, the same loch Ruby visits in the story. I thought (hoped) it would look more attractive with a woman in the scene. After a lot of searching I found a picture on Pixabay which I thought suited the story. I tweaked the book blurb and made a few small changes to the manuscript itself, though nothing major. The story remained essentially the same. It was re-published in the autumn of 2018.

The next novelette I self-published was a brand new one. I wrote Finding Ella between 2017 and 2018, ensuring the cover depicted the figure of a woman.

During 2019 I worked my way through the remaining novelettes. Paris Actually became Love, Anna. This one was re-worked. In the original story Anna leaves her partner behind because he’s not romantic enough. A beta reader suggested that this wasn’t a strong enough reason, so I decided to make Anna’s partner depressed. She didn’t leave him because of that though. She left because he told her he didn’t love her …

Love You and Leave You became Laura’s Embrace, whilst The ‘B’ Word became Cassie’s Choice. The ‘B’ Word had only ever been published as part of a collection, so I did the same thing with the updated version. Cassie’s Choice is the only novelette not available as a standalone title.

In the autumn of 2019, I was ready to replace the old collection Snapshots with a revamped collection – And Then She Shines. I made it available in both e-book and paperback format, and although this wasn’t my first paperback, it was the one I was most proud of, partly because of all the time I’d spent updating it, and partly because it was thick enough to have the book title and my name on the spine. Yay!

To put this into context my first paperback was the non-fiction book about my dog. It’s a short book, so it’s very thin and therefore has no title or author name on the spine.

Whilst publishing And Then She Shines was a milestone, it didn’t mark the end of the project to revamp my old novelettes. There are still two left to work on, which I decided to combine. I’ve been working on this project for the best part of a year. I had hoped to self-publish it this year but setting up my new business has taken precedence. Because the manuscript is a lot longer than the novelettes, currently 40,000 words, I plan to submit it to some traditional publishers, to see what they think. If I can’t find a home for it, I will definitely self-publish it in 2021.

About Helen Libby

Originally from North Wales, Helen currently lives in Shropshire with her husband and their dog. Helen worked for many years in the public sector and has an administrative background. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. As well as being an indie author, Helen is a self-publishing consultant, offering editorial, self-publishing, and writing services.
To find out more, please go to: http://www.helen-edwards.co.uk

Social Media Links –
Facebook: www.facebook.com/helibedw
Instagram: @helibedw
Twitter: @helibedw

Thank you for stopping by and reading Helen’s guest post. Wishing her book lots of success and a Happy Wednesday to all of us!

Book Blitz: Ocean Heart by Ally Aldridge @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:

Title: Ocean Heart (The Soul Heart Series, #1)
Author: Ally Aldridge
Publication date: December 1st 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Being a mermaid brings a new depth to ‘it’s complicated.’

High school teen Mariah’s life is anything but simple.  Between a crush on her best friend and a rivalry brewing with the swim team star, her powers awaken early.  

When Mariah’s guardian meddles in her life with magic, she causes more harm than good.  The soul reapers are coming and there’s a werewolf hungry for merblood.  All secrets wash ashore sooner or later, and Mariah’s about to discover hers.

Mixing a messy love life with deadly powers will whip up a storm of trouble.  Can Mariah contain it or will she be swept up in its wake?

A gripping story about a mermaid, self acceptance, and romance that literally sparks.

Goodreads

Pre-order

Amazon / B&N  / Kobo 

GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)To thank everyone who orders Ocean Heart between 1 Oct and 30 Nov, they author would like to offer them the chance to win a bookish prize of goodies.

There is a UK prize and an International prize. The winner will be announced live on 1 Dec at 8pm GMT, during her launch party on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ho6J-PQTvvI 

Full details and entry at: www.allyaldridge.com/giveaway

AUTHOR BIO:

Ally was born in London but grew up in Suffolk which is where most of her YA Fantasy novels are based.

She is happily married to her high school sweetheart, and together they are raising two cats, their son and daughter.

When Ally is not writing (or at her day job), she loves spending time with her family at the local beach, in the forest or watching way too much Netflix.

Ally loves a cup of tea and has been known to order one on a night out.

website  /  facebook  / twitter  / instagram /  goodreads

Join Soul Heart Readers FB Group

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? November 2nd, 2020

It’s Monday! What are you Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn from Book Date, a place to share and discuss what we’ve read in the past week and what we’re in the middle of or are planning to read this week.

What I read last week

I started last week by listening to two audiobooks from Spectrum Audio Books:

I am still very new to the world of audiobooks (thank you, Jonetta and Carla!), trying to work out what is available and where, but I am definitely enjoying it and would like to continue listening to as many as possible.

I also participated in several book tours and book blitzes:

I also finally got round to reading two exciting thrillers:

What I’m reading this week:

  • The Haunting of Beatrix Green– I know I should have read it in October, but really any time is good for a well-written ghost story and this one comes highly recommended by my blogger friends!

How did your last week go and what are you reading this week?

#Book Blitz # A Stroke of Midnight: A Cinderella Novel by K. Webster (Oct 27-31) @Xpresso Book tours

Book & Author Details:

Stroke of Midnight: A Cinderella Novel
by K. Webster
Publication date: October 27th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Money can buy anything. And anyone. As the head of the Constantine family, I’m used to people bowing to my will. Cruel, rigid, unyielding—I’m all those things. When I discover the one woman who doesn’t wither under my gaze, but instead smiles right back at me, I’m intrigued.

Ash Elliott needs cash, and I make her trade in crudeness and degradation for it. I crave her tears, her moans. I pay for each one. And every time, she comes back for more. When she challenges me with an offer of her own, I have to decide if I’m willing to give her far more than cold hard cash.

But love can have deadly consequences when it comes from a Constantine. At the stroke of midnight, that choice may be lost for both of us.

Goodreads

Purchase

Amazon /  B&N  /  iBooks  /  Kobo

AUTHOR BIO:

K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.

You can easily find K Webster on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads!

Can’t find a certain book? Maybe it’s too hot for Amazon! Don’t worry because titles like Bad Bad Bad, This is War, Baby, The Wild, and Hale can all be found for sale on K’s website in both ebook and paperback format.

Author links:
website / maillist / bookbub  /  facebook / instagram / twitter  / goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

  • $10 Amazon gift card

rafflecopter

#Blog Tour #Book Review of Love Offline by Olivia Spring @rararesources

Love Offline: Looking For Romance In Real Life

Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?

Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread.

So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.

Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he’s hiding something…

Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?

Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way. Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.

Purchase Links

UK  /  US

Love Offline is available to read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited. It is also available to read for FREE in Prime Reading until late November.

My thoughts:
Nothing beats a good British rom-com, especially when you feel you can really relate to the main character!
Emily Robinson is a thirty-five year old self-employed illustrator who is mostly working from home. Sadly, her last serious relationship ended in a heartbreak when she caught her ex Eric cheating on her with a younger girl. Now Eric’s engagement is all over the social media and Emily is devastated. Emily’s bestie Chloe is there for her with a generous portion of divine chocolate cake and carefully chosen words of advice: Emily must do herself a favour, put aside dating apps (a bit of general digital detox won’t hurt) and start meeting new people in real life. Chloe says it takes about sixty days to fom a new habit, so she comes up with all sorts of fun activities to help Emily step out of her comfort zone. Off Emily goes on her quest for real love in the analogue world….But when she does meet her lovely Josh, they still have to overcome another challenge, that of trusting each other and not jumping to conclusions.
Olivia Spring has created realistic, but also very entertaining characters. It isn’t easy for introverts like Emily to put themselves on line and open up to new experiences. Or Kat, a single mum of three, who needs to plan and organise carefully her dating, knowing her children are her first and foremost priority. Everybody needs a bestie like Chloe, self-professed technophobe, always classy, even when she rushes off to sort Em’s problem in a complete set of overnight hair-rollers.
Love offline works for both types of romantics- those who believe in chance, lucky meet-cutes, and those who believe in creating opportunities to meet your soulmate, those who want to find somebody to click and feel comfortable with and those who know relationships need work, those who embrace our digital world with all its pros and cons, and those who prefer old-fashioned human touch. It’s a quick and entertaining read with hilarious moments that will make you smile, but also will make you reflect.
Thank you to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me to participate in this tour and to the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Author Bio –
Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women’s fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’, which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.

Olivia published three novels in 2019: ‘Only When It’s Love’, ‘Losing My Inhibitions’ and ‘Love Offline’. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy’, the hotly anticipated sequel to ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ and Olivia’s fifth novel, was published in July 2020.

When she’s not writing, Olivia can be found making regular trips to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

Social Media Links –
https://twitter.com/ospringauthor
https://www.facebook.com/ospringauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/ospringauthor/
http://www.oliviaspring.com/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/olivia-spring
#LoveOffline

Book Blitz: Don’t Tell Me You Love Me by Holly Kerr (Oct 27-31) @Xpresso Book Tours

Book & Author Details:

Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
by Holly Kerr
Publication date: October 27th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

The only thing stopping Shae from living her best life is the fact that she’s dying.

Together with her social media followers, popular travel vlogger Shae hides her illness from the world and lives every day like it’s her last. Her picture perfect life is only missing one thing—love, because for Shae, it’s not better to have loved and lost—it’s better not to love at all.

Emmett knows all about loss—he had it all until the death of his wife sent his life spinning out of control. It took him three years to pull himself together, trading ball diamonds for the strawberry patch and sweet corn fields of the family farm but now it’s time for him to take another chance at love. 

After Emmett escorts Shae down the aisle at his sister’s wedding, he falls hard. One glimpse of her fun-filled life and Emmett knows he’s ready to be a part of it.  

As they spend more time together, Shae fights against her feelings. How can she let him love her when it’s only going to lead to more heartache? But it’s hard to keep her distance, especially when Emmet is fighting for her heart.

Is love the one thing Shae can’t live without?

Don’t Tell Me You Love Me is the first book of the Don’t Sweet Romance series, a picture-perfect tale of first love, second chances, and living your best life. Fall in love with Shae and Emmett today.

Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

Holly Kerr is the author of fifteen chick-lit, romantic comedy, and women’s fiction novels, but don’t ask her to explain the differences in the genres. She grew up a farm girl but now calls Toronto home, where she lives with her three very tall children, following their sports exploits like any dutiful mother.

She’s a lover of Marvel movies, Star Wars movies…really, any movies, and has a surprising amount of worthless pop culture info stored in her head. She likes oceans over mountains, tea over coffee, and can mix a darn fine dirty martini, with extra olives, of course.

Author links:
https://www.hollykerr.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/HollyKerrAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/hollykerr.author/
https://twitter.com/hollykerrauthor
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580449.Holly_Kerr

GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INT)

  • $25 Amazon gift card

rafflecopter

Purchase:99¢ for a limited time only!Amazon: https://amzn.to/37AW9nm

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dont-tell-me-you-love-me-holly-kerr/1137795316?ean=2940164479237

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/don-t-tell-me-you-love-me-1

Thank you very much for stopping by! Have a great Thursday!

#Blog Tour #Guest Post # Q and A with Tessa Buckley, the author of Lady In Red #Middle Grade @rararesources

Thank you very much to Rachel from Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Lady in Red, an exciting middle grade mystery.

Synopsis:

Lady in Red
Pursuing the truth can be a dangerous game…
School’s out for the summer, and Eye Spy Investigations have a new case – looking for Lady in Red, a lost masterpiece by Victorian painter, Gabriel Pascoe.
The clock is ticking for Alex and Donna, because the artist’s house, Acacia Villa, where their friend Jake lives, is due to be demolished, and vital clues may be destroyed. And Alex has an additional problem: he is terrified of snakes, and Jake has a pet snake called Queenie…
As the twins pursue their enquiries, they come up against the man who wants to demolish Acacia Villa. But Mr Mortimer is the godfather of their baby half-sister, Sophie, and criticising him could open up family rifts, which have only just healed.
Then Queenie goes missing, setting in motion a disastrous train of events that will turn the search for Lady in Red into the twins’ most dangerous case yet.

Today we have a Q and A session with Tessa Buckley, the author of the Eye Spy Series!

How long have you been writing?

I started writing my own stories almost as soon as I could read, but as I got older, life got in the way, and by the time I was working in my first job, the writing tailed off. It was really only when my children were in full time schooling that I decided to start again. It’s definitely easier to write books when you are older and have more life experience to draw on..

Do you write non-fiction as well as novels?

Soon after my first child was born, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. At the time, there were no treatments for the disease, but after I discovered the research that had been done on diet and MS, I changed my diet and improved my health dramatically. I then wrote a book about the benefits of nutritional therapy (The Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book) and was lucky enough to find a publisher quite quickly. I now write a regular blog about food and MS, https://msandfood.org.as well as regular articles on the subject.

What gave you the idea for the Eye Spy series?

One day the voice of Alex, my teen detective, just popped into my head, and I heard him describe his life with his Nan, a school dinner lady, and his eccentric inventor father. It was only later that I realised that he and his twin sister, Donna, were inspired by memories of a brother and sister I knew when I was a child. It wasn’t difficult to choose a setting for the series either – a small seaside town – as I live in a seaside town myself, so it was familiar territory to me.

What are your favourite hobbies?

I do a lot of cooking, devising recipes for my blog, but I am also passionate about family history. I am hoping to write a book about my mother’s ancestors, a lot of whom ran successful coaching inns. I’m also researching my husband’s family, who have a very different background in mining, socialism, and trade union activism.

What is it about writing that has given you the most enjoyment?

When I am writing, I can escape into an imaginary world, just as I did as a child when I read Enid Blyton, or the Narnia stories. Today’s children are under a lot more pressure than my generation were, trying to navigate their way through a much more complex and uncertain world, and if my books can provide them with some enjoyable escapism in difficult times, then I will have achieved my goal.

Purchase Links
Lady in Red        Amazon.co.uk  paperback
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Red-Tessa-Buckley/dp/1838591699/
Lady in Red        Amazon.co.uk  ebook
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lady-Red-Eye-Spy-3-ebook/dp/B081B54DPD
Lady in Red        Amazon.com ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Red-Tessa-Buckley/dp/1838591699/
Lady in Red        Ibooks
https://books.apple.com/gb/book/lady-in-red/id1487451631?mt=11&app=itunes
Lady in Red        Matador bookstore
https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/young-adult/lady-in-red/

About the author:

Tessa Buckley was an inveterate scribbler as a child, and spent much of her time writing and illustrating stories. After studying Interior Design, she spent fifteen years working for architects and designers. She took up writing again after her young daughter complained that she couldn’t find enough adventure stories to read. This led, in 2016, to the publication of  Eye Spy, the first in a series for 9-12 year olds about two teen detectives. There are now two more books in the series: Haunted, which was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2017,, and Lady in Red. She lives by the sea in Essex and recently completed an Open University arts degree.

Social Media Links – 
Website:            https://tessabuckleyauthor.com
Facebook:          https://www.facebook.com/Tessa-Buckley-Author-
Goodreads:       https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4157057.Tessa_Buckley

Thank you very much to Tessa for this guest post. Let’s all wish Happy book-Birthday to Lady in Red!

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