LizzieChantree

Daily smiles.

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Hello everyone. How are you? I’ve finally sent book two back to my editor for the second round of edits and am starting book 3 in my most recent series, which is based in Cherry Blossom Lane. I’ve been trying to be more active on social media and have been making lots of Instagram, Facebook and TikTok posts, which has been a learning curve. It’s given me the chance to chat to some new readers and subscribers, so I’m really enjoying it too.

The next writing buddy session I’m hosting with fellow author, Chris Penhall, at Fete cafe in Chelmsford, Essex, will be on the 16th March. Details can be found here.

Here are some memes I’ve made to hopefully make you smile today. Feel free to drop me a message or comment to let me know what you’re working on, or reading, at the moment. Have a great week! From Lizzie. x

February word count.

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Hello everyone. I haven’t posted here for a while. How are you all? I’ve been working on the second book in the Cherry Blossom Lane series and have just received the first edits back from my editor. The book is called, The One That He Wants and is the second book in the series to My Perfect Ex. It’s always exciting and nerve wracking to open that email to see what she says! Luckily she loves the story and is looking forward to book three. Phew! Here are some gorgeous reviews from book 1: ‘Loved it!’ ‘A wonderful read.’ ‘Beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyed.’

I’m trying to be more organised this year, so I bought myself two huge wall planners for my office and home and I’m using it as a visual prompt to get on with book promotion and stop procrastinating. I’ve held a couple of writing buddy sessions that I run with fellow romance author, Chris Penhall, recently and the daytime session was fully booked, which was exciting. It warms my heart to hear about the different ways people write, what they are working on and also that writing buddies might help them to get words onto paper in some way. We hire the top floor of a gorgeous coffee shop and encourage people to write with two 30 minute writing sprints, a coffee break to network and a chat at the end about how people are. There are no word count pressures and we don’t check anyone’s work, it is purely to write alongside other creatives for a couple of hours. We have people writing books, comedy, short stories, poetry, articles and more. The weather has been dreary, so it’s always a mad dash to keep our computers and manuscripts dry if we are going to the coffee shop. I tend to write by hand at first, so I always have pages and pages of paper with me.

I’ve been chatting to people on social media a lot recently and I’m enjoying hearing about what everyone is reading. I’ve just started reading a lovely book called Patches through time by Sian Turner, who is a member of my book group, Lizzie’s Book Group, on Facebook. I’ve also just finished a book by Sue Moorcroft, called An Italian Island Summer, which is a beautiful read.

Have a great week everyone! From Lizzie. x

 

Free and bargain romance reads.

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Hi everyone. I have some deals for BlackFriday and Cyber Monday, that i’d love to share with you. Finding Gina is free for a couple more days and  If you love me i’m yours, Babe Driven and The woman who felt invisible are all 99p/99c  until Monday evening. Usual price: £2.99/$3.99.

Researchers at the University of Sussex found reading for just six minutes may reduce stress by up to 68%!

If that’s not an excuse for some ‘me time’, I don’t know what is! 🙂

Universal book buy link: Finding Gina: viewbook.at/FindingGina
Book blurb:

If you enjoy irresistible humour, warmth and romance, you’ll love this gorgeous magical adventure. From the international bestselling author of, My Perfect Ex.

After taking a wrong turn in the road, Gina parked her little campervan on the front lawn of a beautiful English manor house and sighed in relief. No one knew her here, so perhaps she could stop running from her past and give her heart time to heal.

Fledgling wedding events owner and heir to the estate, Toby, needed someone to help him run the business and fast. If he didn’t make money this year, then his aunt’s legacy might crumble to the ground, around him.

From his little cottage on the estate grounds, Lewis read another provincial story about a ‘guardian angel’ who had been helping families across the country and his reporter’s nose began to itch. He was sure that is he could track down the girl they were talking about, he would unearth an even bigger story. He just had to work out how to locate her and then find out what it was she was running from.

‘A SWEET ROMANCE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BE SWEPT AWAY BY A GOOD CHICK-LIT READ WITH A CAST OF COLOURFUL CHARACTERS AND SATISFYING HAPPILY EVER AFTERS.’

★★★★★ ‘Magic! This book is like a warm cup of coffee with some magic stars sprinkled on top.’ – Heidi Reads

Universal book buy link: If you love me, I’m yours: mybook.to/IfYouLoveMe

Universal book buy link: Babe Driven: viewbook.at/BabeDriven

The woman who felt invisible: viewbook.at/InvisibleWoman

 

 

 

Cupcakes, Ice Cream and Romance.

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Hi everyone. How are you all? I’ve been working on getting two new books ready. The New Girl On Cherry Blossom Lane, will be out in the next month or two and my newsletter subscribers will be the first to see the cover. It will be in their email inboxes in the next week.  The other book is the sequel to my international bestseller, The Little Ice Cream Shop By The Sea. I’m so excited to revisit those sandy shores and it’s given me an excuse to sample some delicious cupcakes and ice cream. Not that I need much persuading! It’s also given me the chance to walk by the sea, sit and reflect for a while and to waggle my toes in the fresh sea air. It was a bit too chilly to take my boots off, so I wriggled my toes in my boots, but the sentiment was there. Lol!

 

I thought I’d share some pictures of the beach to make you smile today. Where do you feel the most creative? The sea often inspires story ideas for me.

Have an amazing rest of the week and don’t forget to pop by my book group for writing support or my Instagram page for bookish inspiration.

 

 

 

Val Penny. This week’s Top Author.

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How are  you all today? I’ve finally sent the third round of edits back to my editor and have some time to work on book two of my new romance series. I can’t wait to show you all the cover designs when they are ready.

This week it’s my pleasure to showcase the work of another author and to offer them some support. Val penny is a brilliant writer who is the author of a page turning series of detective books. Once you start the first book in the series, you’ll find yourself drawn to the next book straight away.

Val Penny’s crime novels, Hunter’s Chase Hunter’s Revenge, Hunter’s Force Hunter’s Blood and Hunter’s Secret form the bestselling series The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries. They are set in Edinburgh, Scotland, published by darkstroke. Her first non-fiction book Let’s Get Published is also available now and she has most recently contributed her short story, Cats and Dogs to a charity anthology, Dark Scotland.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland with her husband and two cats.

Some 5 star reviewer praise for Val’s work:

‘Gripping, Fast Paced Crime Thriller, with a sprinkling of Humour!’

‘I have a new hero: Detective Inspect Hunter – tough when needs be but with a soft centre.’

From, Val Penny:

2020 was a strange year all across the globe. I am, by nature a gregarious person and the restrictions placed on socialising because of the deadly coronavirus were as difficult for me as for everybody else. However, I was lucky. I am an author, and I spent the year writing two books, the non-fiction Let’s Get Published and the fifth book in The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries, Hunter’s Secret. I also made contact with a narrator to arrange for the first book in the series, Hunter’s Chase, to be made into an audio book. It will be out by the end of March 2021.

Hunter’s Secret book blurb:

Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is called to the scene of a murder. DCs Tim Myerscough and Bear Zewedu found a corpse, but when Hunter arrives it has disappeared, and all is not as it seems.

Hunter recalls the disappearance of a dead body thirty years earlier. The Major Incident Team is called in but sees no connection – it is too long ago. Hunter is determined to investigate the past and the present with the benefit of modern DNA testing.

Tim has other problems in his life. His father, Sir Peter Myerscough, is released from jail. He, too, remembers the earlier murder. There is no love lost between Hunter and Sir Peter. Will Hunter accept help from his nemesis to catch a killer?
Hunter’s own secret is exciting and crucial to his future. Will it change his life? And can he keep Edinburgh safe?

Author Contact Details And Buy Links:

www.valpenny.com
https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny
https://twitter.com/valeriepenny
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/val-penny

Buy Links:
mybook.to/hunterschase
mybook.to/huntersrevenge
mybook.to/huntersforce
mybook.to/huntersblood
mybook.to/hunterssecret
bit.ly/LetsGetPublished
mybook.to/darkscotlan



Growing your Twitter followers.

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Happy new week everyone! Today I thought I’d stay with the theme of Twitter, as I am often asked about how I get followers on my Twitter account @Lizzie_Chantree There is no trick, but I am happy to share some ideas I use.

 

  1. Have interesting content on your Twitter timeline. Why should people follow your Twitter account? What would interest them?
  2.  Does your Twitter timeline represent your personality? I write romance books and am interested in creativity and people in general, so I often tweet about lifestyle, families, design. business, and romance. I also like to chat to people on Twitter. I think it’s a great networking tool and you can reach out to contact people you might not be able to otherwise. It would be a bit confusing if I suddenly began posting random pictures of cars or elephants.
  3. Make your bio interesting. The first thing people who visit your page see, is your profile picture and bio. What do they say about you? I very rarely follow anyone without a bio photo or description. I assume they are not really interested in their account.
  4. Follow a few more people each week, then unfollow any that don’t follow you back after a couple of weeks. They might not be interested in your Timeline, or are not active enough on Twitter to respond to your follow  with a follow back. You can use programmes like Manageflitter for this, or CommunIT.
  5. Interact with people. I chat to different people every day and really enjoy networking. People are more likely to follow an active Twitter user as there are many programmes out there that will tell you if a Twitter account hasn’t tweeted for the last year, month, day few hours.
  6. Respond to your notifications! If someone is tweeting to you, take a moment to reply. You might be busy, but it takes seconds to respond with a thank you if someone has retweeted you.

 

Ninja School Mum Book Link

Hunter’s Chase.

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Today I am welcoming a friend and fellow Crooked Cat author Val Penny to my blog to tell us about her new book, Hunter’s Chase. Over to Val!

Hunter's Chase banner

I am pleased to be visiting my friend’s blog today.

            My novel, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ is a crime thriller that falls squarely within the Tartan Noire genre. The main protagonist is Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson. The story begins when DI Hunter Wilson, who knows there is a new supply of cocaine flooding his city, Edinburgh, Scotland. He needs to find the source but his attention is transferred to murder when a corpse is discovered in the grounds of a golf course.

            Shortly after the post-mortem, Hunter witnesses a second murder but that is not the end of the slaughter. With a young woman’s life also hanging in the balance, the last thing Hunter needs is a new man on his team: the son of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable. Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this taught crime thriller. Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until Edinburgh is safe.

            I set ‘Hunter’s Chase in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland because it is a city I know well. I did consider creating an imaginary town for him. However, Edinburgh has everything a writer could need. It is a diverse city with all different kinds of buildings and people. It is small enough that characters can move around it quickly and large enough for it to be credible that anything I want to happen there, could happen.

            Edinburgh is also a beautiful city with a castle, a palace and a cathedral, wealthy homes, horrible slums, fine restaurants, fast food outlets and idiosyncratic pubs. It is home to an Olympic size pool, the National Rugby Team and two famous football teams. What more could I or my characters want?

            I am an American author living in SW Scotland. I have two adult daughters of whom I am justly proud and live with my husband and two cats. I have a Law degree from Edinburgh University and my MSc from Napier University.

            I have had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, lawyer, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer. However I have not yet achieved either of my childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, I have turned my hand to writing poetry, short stories and novels. My first crime novel, ‘Hunter’s Chase’ was published by Crooked Cat Books on 02.02.2018. I am now writing the sequel, ‘Hunter’s Revenge’.

Hunter's Chase book cover

 

Grab your copy of this amazing book here: 

myBook.to/HuntersChase

Author contact details

www.authorvalpenny.com

www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

Friends of Hunter’s Chase – www.facebook.com/groups/296295777444303

https://twitter.com/valeriepenny

Day 2. Blog Tour. Ninja School Mum.

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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.

Ninja School Mum blog tour!

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Today is the start of my first ever blog tour for my latest book, Ninja School mum. A big thank you to today’s host, author Michelle Abbott for her support and wonderful post.

Check out Michelle’s blog post here:

http://michelle-abbott.weebly.com/blog/launch-of-ninja-school-mum-by-lizzie-chantree

I am currently organising the paperback launch for this book and have set up a Facebook page that explains my whole journey of planning my first ebook launch online, which is on the 30th Jan, to my paperback launch and organising my own blog tour. If you are planning an event for your own writing, there might be some tips from what I have learnt there. Anyone is welcome to join. Enjoy!

Twitter Ad NSM 3

Click photo for book link.

 

Book Giveaway Competition.

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Hello everyone. I’m holding a Goodreads Giveaway. It’s the first giveaway I have ever organised and if you enter, there is a chance to win one of four signed paperback copies of Ninja School Mum. To enter the prize draw, simply click the book giveaway link below and follow the instructions. Good luck!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Ninja School Mum by Lizzie Chantree

Ninja School Mum

by Lizzie Chantree

Giveaway ends February 12, 2018.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

 

IMG_2137

 

Book blurb: 

Obsessive-compulsive school mum, Skye, is a lonely elite spy, who is running from her past whilst trying to protect the future of her child. She tries hard to fit in with the other parents at her son’s new school, but the only person who accepts her unconventional way of life is new mother, Thea.

Thea is feeling harassed by her sister and bored with her life, but she suspects that there is something strange about the new school mum, Skye. Thea has secrets of her own and, although the two become unlikely friends, she hesitates to tell Skye about the father of her own child.

Zack’s new business is growing faster than he could have dreamed but, suddenly, he finds himself the owner of a crumbling estate on the edge of a pretty village, and a single parent to a very demanding child. Could he make a go of things and give his daughter the life she deserved?

When three lives collide, it appears that only one of them is who they seem to be, and you never know who the person next to you in the school playground really is.