Thursday Thoughts.

A change from introducing a different author here today, I’m going to share some of my favourite photos from 2018. I launched two new books with my publisher last year and there are so many wonderful memories. I had no idea how special it would feel to hold  the first ever paperback of one of my books and to be a traditionally published author. I had two virtual and physical book launches, which I’d never done before and begun my Facebook Group, Lizzie’s Book Group, for writers, to share my experiences.

I also saw my books become international bestsellers and to reach the #1 Hot New realise spot on Amazon. I couldn’t have done any of that without the support of my readers or the writing community, who have shown me endless kindness and shared news of my work with their friends and family and on their blogs and websites.

I’m excited to have finished writing a new book and have begun my 7th novel, so I will keep you updated on what is happening in 2019 and beyond! Happy New Year everyone.

 

A gift for you!

Happy Friday everyone. From around 10am on the 23rd November until the end of the day on the 25th November 2018, you are able to download your own FREE copy of my two latest Bestselling Romance Reads, Ninja School Mum and If you love me, I’m yours. I hope the stories make you smile and that you have an amazing weekend. Happy reading! From Lizzie.

Winter book sale. Lizzie Chantree

 

Universal book buy link: If you love me, I’m yous: viewbook.at/IfYouLoveMe-ImYours

Universal book buy link: Ninja School Mum: viewbook.at/NinjaSchoolMum

 

Powerful words.

I hope you have all had a great weekend. I read an interesting article on Saturday about finding insights from inspirational quotes. It was explaining how we can look at the words used in popular quotes and to try and work out what is so powerful about them. Why do they make an impact and what do they mean to us?

Logic meme by Lizzie Chantree

We can turn this around and ask the same question of our own writing. Do our words convey the message we want them to? Are our readers going to feel an emotional attachment to our stories from what we have written? It’s a top tip when sitting back and reconsidering everything during the editing stage. Are you making the impression you want to? If not, what can you do to really make your story work?

Happy writing!

 

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Self-confidence meme by Lizzie Chantree 7.30

 

If you love me, I’m yours. A romantic comedy by Lizzie Chantree.

The Pretender by Katie Ward.

The Pretender

Introducing Katie Ward:

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to author Katie Ward. Today, Katie has stopped by to tell us about her latest book, The Pretender. Over to Katie… 

Author Bio

Katie Ward always knew she wanted to write for a living. However, she was told by her careers advisor that “it might be more appropriate for you to work in a shop”. When Katie didn’t get the grades she needed to get into college, she negotiated a three month trial. After successfully completing the course she secured a place at her first choice university to study Journalism.

After realising she wanted to be an author, Katie moved to Dublin where she worked her way up from receptionist to Executive Assistant at Merrill Lynch. Katie continued to write in her spare time, submitting her short story into the “Do the Write Thing” competition being run by Irish TV show ‘Seoige and O’Shea’. This story was originally written when Katie was 14 after she was inspired by an article in her favourite teen magazine. Katie was the only non-Irish author selected to have her story published in an anthology of the same name which reached 19 in the Irish Best sellers List. Katie was also shortlisted for a competition judged by MAN Booker Prize winning author Roddy Doyle which was run by Metro Eireann newspaper.

The Pretender Cover

Book blurb: The Pretender

France 2000: Two babies are born on the same day just two hours apart – but to very different lives. Isabella is a Princess and heir to the French throne, while Sophia is born into a life of poverty and abuse at the hands of her father. At the age of 18, Sophia runs away from home. That same night, Isabella is also fleeing from the burden of her royal life when she finds Sophia slumped at the palace gates. Amazed by how alike they look, Isabella proposes a daring plot – to exchange their lives for one week.
‘The Pretender’ is an emotionally intense and compelling story of friendship, love and the strange power of destiny.

Purchase from Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pretender-Katie-Ward-ebook/dp/B07GDTD2VH/

 

From Katie: 

I remember the moment I realised I wanted to be an author. I was 22 years old and working as a reporter for a local newspaper. I’d always thought I wanted to be a journalist but sitting there, typing away, it hit me…I wanted to be an author.

I quickly came up with the idea for my first novel, as well as deciding to move to New Zealand.

I’d like to say that I had a plan in place but as an eternal optimist they’ve never been mandatory! I’ve always preferred to just go with the flow and see where life takes me. However, no amount of optimism could change the fact that I needed a lot of money to move to New Zealand and I just didn’t have it.

Dejected and defeated I took a trip to Dublin, exploring the city in the sunshine, drinking in the array of bars and meeting new people. We had such a great time my friend was resolute that she was staying in Dublin to live. Every time she told anyone they would turn to me, asking whether I was staying too. My reply was always the same “No way, I’ve got a life to go home for.” Dublin was never on the cards for me. I had my sights set on New Zealand…eventually!

When it came to leave, I left alone with my friend opting to stay behind and move in to a house share.

Returning home, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should go to Dublin. Dismissing it, I held on to the reasons I had to stay. However, every excuse I’d had melted away like ice in the desert.

Should I stay or should I go? I had no money, I had no permanent job and this seemed the worst time to even consider it. But, what did I have to lose?

“Ok, I’ve got an idea” I said to my friend on her brief return home “I’m £30 over my overdraft; I shouldn’t be able to buy anything on this card. Let’s leave this to fate, if I’m destined to go to Dublin then let this airfare go through on this card and if I’m not then let it decline.”

Nervously tapping into the computer, I entered my card details. My friend and I huddled around the computer as I clicked the payment button. A few seconds later, the confirmation flashed upon the screen…I was going to Dublin.

Fact they say is a lot stranger than fiction and if that wasn’t true, I’d have been on the first flight home a week later. But I wasn’t. It turned out to be the best move I ever made. I quickly realised the long and vibrant literary history Dublin has. As I walked down the streets, I was enthused by the knowledge that years before me, the likes of Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Bram Stoker had walked these same streets.

It was their treasured homeland where I too developed my writing skills, taking a course at the Dublin Writer’s Centre. My first writing break came in Dublin after I entered a competition on national Irish TV called ‘Do the Write Thing’ run by the RTE day time show ‘Seoige and O’Shea’. My short story selected out of hundreds of entries to be one of 14 authors published in an anthology of the same name. Shortly after this, I was shortlisted for a competition run by national newspaper Metro Eireann and judged by MAN Booker Prize Winner Roddy Doyle.

Seeing my work in print reaffirmed that this really was what I wanted to do. It gave me the confidence to follow my dreams. On the days where it all seemed pointless and never ending, it gave me the hope to carry on and strive to be in the place I am today, preparing to publish my own novel. Perhaps most importantly, it helped me see the value in taking calculated risks and if I hadn’t had that experience I would never have been where I am today. Never could I have even contemplated publishing my own novel but this whole situation helped me realise just what my capabilities truly are. In that way, everything I have is owed to my Irish experience, without it I could never be the writer I am today. That’s why I hold Dublin so close to my heart and why I always will.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/KatieWWriter

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KatieWWriter

Website – https://katiewardwriter.com/

GIVEAWAY TIME: 

Giveaway – Win a signed original illustration from Emma Haines (Open Internationally) To enter the prize draw, follow the giveaway link.

Giveaway Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33c69494134/

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter link above.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

 

Don’t forget to visit other stops on this blog tour!

The Pretender Full Tour Banner

Cover Wars!

Ninja School Mum is currently on Cover Wars. It’s already got quite a few votes and the competition runs until 8am on Sunday. The winner wins a week of promotion for their book, so it’s a great competition for authors. Every person who clicks their vote is seeing all of the lovely covers there.

You can vote once each day via iphone and once via computer or iPad. A big thank you to everyone who has voted so far or is still voting. #TeamNinja

To add you vote for Ninja School Mum click here: Cover Wars

 

Launch day!

Today is the launch day for my latest book, If you love me, I’m yours! This is the second book I have launched this year and it’s been a rollercoaster of excitement and a lot of hard work to get to this point in my life. I hope you will take a look at my book, enjoy finding out more about the characters and if the story intrigues you, purchase a copy of your own. Update: It’s now on the Amazon bestseller’s lists on it’s first day of publication!

I began my career working from a market stall and worked my way up to owning two retail shops and a wholesale business. Due to my youngest daughter’s ill health, which lasted for seven years, I had to make a change to my life and career, as I needed to be at home. From this dark time, blossomed a new career and I have met so many talented authors and amazing readers. I don’t know where I would be without you all, as you make me smile even day and I’m very grateful for your support and encouragement.

IYLMIY cover small

I really hope that my books make you smile and that you get as much pleasure from reading the stories, as I do from writing them. Have a great day! From Lizzie.

Book description:

‘If you love me, I’m yours…’

Maud didn’t mind being boring, not really. She had a sensible job, clothes, and love life… if you counted an overbearing ex who had thanked her, rolled over and was snoring before she even realised he’d begun! She could tolerate not fulfilling her dreams, if her parents would pay her one compliment about the only thing she was passionate about in life: her art.

Dot should have fit in with her flamboyant and slightly eccentric family of talented artists, but somehow, she was an anomaly who couldn’t paint. She tried hard to be part of their world by becoming an art agent extraordinaire, but she dreamed of finding her own voice.

Dot’s brother Nate, a smoulderingly sexy and famous artist, was adored by everyone. His creative talent left them in awe of his ability to capture such passion on canvas. Women worshipped him, and even Dot’s friend Maud flushed and bumped into things when he walked into a room, but a tragic event in his past had left him emotionally and physically scarred, and reluctant to face the world again.

Someone was leaving exquisite little paintings on park benches, with a tag saying, ‘If you love me, I’m yours’. The art was so fresh and cutting-edge, that it generated a media frenzy and a scramble to discover where the mystery artist could be hiding. The revelation of who the prodigious artist was interlinked Maud, Dot and Nate’s lives forever, but their worlds came crashing down.

Were bonds of friendship, love and loyalty strong enough to withstand fame, success and scandal?

 

Book launch photos:

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Goodreads Giveaway

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I’ve just run my first Goodreads Giveaway. I understand that Goodreads might not be running Giveaways anymore in the UK, which is a shame, because for my first try, I had 1,395 entrants to the competition, 571 people added my book to their bookshelf on Goodreads as want to read and I had 4 winners!

This is a fabulous way to discover new readers of my genre and for them to learn more about my work too. I’d love to hear from anyone else who has run a giveaway. Was it successful and what top tips can you share?

Book Link: viewBook.at/NinjaSchoolMum

Ninja School Mum is currently on the best sellers list in two categories on Amazon! 

 

Latest review for Ninja School Mum:

5 stars! Lizzie Chantree’s writing will have you hooked

‘Skye and her little boy are such a delight – feisty, brave and ready to “flip the bird” at the rest of the world.

Yet Skye has a secret that is only revealed as the book goes on – I liked how her past story was revealed piece by piece, leaving the reader guessing until the end.
There’s much to enjoy in “Ninja School Mum” which isn’t all simply romance. Skye is lonely – and that isn’t helped by being ignored by the other mothers at the school gates; bullying also rears its ugly head; Skye is a loyal friend – as her new friend Thea discovers; and there is romance – with lovely Zack who also has his demons to fight.

I thoroughly recommend this novel – that combines lots of humour with the hard-hitting subjects of bullying and loneliness. The characters are memorable and I’d love to have Skye as a friend.’

 

Day 2. Blog Tour. Ninja School Mum.

Today’s stop on my blog tour is with author Alice Castle and her wonderful blog. We talk about invention, first jobs and being a romantic!

Check out Alice’s post for my blog tour here: http://www.dulwichdivorcee.com/meet-the-author-lizzie-chantree/

 

Thea 3.jpg

Meet Thea, one of my main characters in Ninja School Mum. She is a new mum and looks after her niece for her bossy sister during the school day. She feels very overlooked by her family and although she used to have a responsible job, she now finds it hard to remember a time when anyone actually noticed her at all.

Grab a great new read!

Alice Castle

The Girl in the Gallery by Alice Castle.    OUT TODAY! 

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Dulwich…

It’s a perfect summer’s morning in the plush south London suburb, and thirty-something Beth Haldane has sneaked off to visit one of her favourite places, the world-famous Picture Gallery.

She’s enjoying a few moments’ respite from juggling her job at prestigious private school Wyatt’s and her role as single mum to little boy Ben, when she stumbles across a shocking new exhibit on display. Before she knows it, she’s in the thick of a fresh, and deeply chilling, investigation.

Who is The Girl in the Gallery? Join Beth in adventure #2 of the London Murder Mystery series as she tries to discover the truth about a secret eating away at the very heart of Dulwich.

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From Alice:

Thanks so much, Lizzie, for hosting me today on your blog. It’s great to be able to have a chat about my second whodunit, The Girl in the Gallery, which is coming out on 19th December.

The Girl in the Gallery is number two in my London Murder Mystery series and, as the title suggests, it starts off in a picture gallery. The gallery is based on the real life Dulwich Picture Gallery, one of my favourite places, which is not only a superb building but also houses an amazing art collection. When I realised it was celebrating 200 years of art for the public this year, I was determined to make it the backdrop to a murder mystery and, thanks to my publisher Crooked Cat, we’ve just got it out in time.

Dulwich Picture Gallery is a very odd building and, although its use of light from above to maximise wall space has been copied around the world, there’s one aspect of this structure which has never been replicated. That’s the mausoleum at its centre, which houses the dead bodies of the founders of the art collection. Their remains are so beautifully packaged that you can walk straight past them without quite knowing what you are seeing, but I thought it would make a wonderfully gothic place to find a body, and that’s what gave me the idea for The Girl in the Gallery.

The book is concerned with issues of identity and pressure on teenage girls, whether it’s the compulsion to establish an online profile at an age when most adolescents don’t really know who they are, or whether it’s the eating disorders and massive exam stress that sadly affect so many high-achieving girls.

Despite dealing with some series issues, the book is light-hearted and I hope has a comic twist, thanks to characters like Belinda MacKenzie, the scary uber-mummy who dominates the playground, and Beth Haldane herself. Beth is my single mum amateur sleuth, bringing up a ten-year-old on her own and, thanks to her determination, persistence and a distinct reckless streak, determined to find out who The Girl in the Gallery really is, and what has befallen her. Along the way, she has the assistance of DI Harry York, whose pragmatic attitude to crime is at odds with Beth’s fixation with justice.

Although The Girl in the Gallery is the second in a series which started with Death in Dulwich, it can be read independently. I hope, though, that you’ll get the bug and want to read on. If you do, then Calamity in Camberwell is due out in 2018 and there will be more Beth adventures to follow.

You can buy the book here: MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery, and find Death in Dulwich here: MyBook.to/1DeathinDulwich

Alice Castle Contact: 

About the author:

Before turning to crime, Alice Castle was a UK newspaper journalist for The Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Her first book, Hot Chocolate, set in Brussels and London, was a European best-seller which sold out in two weeks.

Alice is currently working on the sequel to Death in Dulwich and The Girl in the Gallery, the third book in the London Murder Mystery series. It will be published by Crooked Cat next year and is entitled The Calamity in Camberwell. Once again, it features Beth Haldane and DI Harry York.

Alice is also a top mummy blogger, writing DD’s Diary at www.dulwichdivorcee.com.

She lives in south London and is married with two children, two step-children and two cats.

Author website: https://www.alicecastleauthor.com

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/alicecastleauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DDsDiary?lang=en

Links to buy books: MyBook.to/GirlintheGallery   myBook.to/1DeathinDulwich, myBook.to/HotChocolate