Hunter’s Chase by Val Penny.

Thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog today, Lizzie. I am delighted to have a chance to tell you and your readers about Hunter’s Chase, the first novel in my series of The DI Hunter Wilson Thrillers.

I have been writing and telling stories all my life. When I was a child, I was inspired to make up stories for my little sister after our Mum put the light out and told us to go to sleep. Later, I wrote documents, contracts, and courses as part of my job, but my time was well accounted for, so I did not create any fiction.

However, I took early retirement when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and there were times when I suffered severe side effects from my treatment. I could not go out, spend time with friends or indulge in many of my favourite hobbies, but watching daytime television got very old very fast, so I turned to reading. It was the only thing I had the energy to do and could do safely.

I read voraciously, as I always have. I particularly enjoy reading crime fiction and thrillers. I indulged this interest with many novels including those by Peter Robinson, Ian Rankin, Linwood Barclay and Kathy Reichs.

After a while, I began to feel a little better and decided to start reviewing the books I read in a blog www.bookreviewstoday.info I enjoyed doing that. Then, as I began to feel better still, I got restless, but was not still well enough to do very much and I complained to my long-suffering husband about getting bored. It was then he challenged me: ‘If you know so much about what makes a good book, why don’t you write one?’ I did laugh. However, with the challenge set, the inspiration given, and I have been writing police procedural crime thrillers set in Scotland ever since.

In fact, I have just moved publishers to the stable of Spellbound Books. They will publish the first book in the series The DI Hunter Wilson Thrillers on 20. August.2022. The main character is Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson in Hunter’s Chase. My new series, The Jane Renwick Thrillers and four new books in a multibook deal will published by SpellBound Books in the months ahead. I am very excited to have made the move.

Although Hunter’s Chase, is the first book in a series, it can be read completely independently as a standalone.

I particularly enjoyed writing Hunter’s Chase it marked the end of a period of particularly poor health and so hope that readers will enjoy it too. The next novel in this series, Hunter’s Revenge, will be published by SpellBound Books in November. I’ll let you know more about that in due course!

Author Biography

It is with great delight that Val Penny has accepted a ten-book deal with Spellbound Books.

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, and novels.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

Author Contact Details

www.valpenny.com

https://www.facebook.com/Authorvalpenny

www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

www.facebook.com/groups/296295777444303

https://www.facebook.com/groups/167248300537409

https://twitter.com/valeriepenny

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17300087.Val_Penny

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-Penny/e/B07C4725TK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1611574956&sr=1-1

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/val-penny

Chaos or calm? The bookcase debate.

Hello everyone. I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who visits this blog and shares it with friends and family. I will be blogging more about my writing journey this year, but I will still be shouting out about new books I discover and other author’s work.

       

I’ve been having some really fun-filled chats with the book loving community on Twitter, about colour-coded bookcases. Some people are horrified by the idea, as they sort their books in alphabetical order, or by the height of the spines. Others love to store them with similar shades of cover design. I enjoy the organised chaos of a colour coded bookcase, by book spine. This doesn’t mean I don’t read or respect the books, it just means seeing the covers makes me smile. I know which is which and often grab them to read, but I know this might make other people’s head spin.  Those who are possibly more organised than me! My house is full of colourful art that I’ve painted and I love handmade crafts from artisans, so it’s definitely not for everyone, but I love it. When I walk into a room and see the book covers, they lift my mood, as I know each cover has such magic hidden inside. How do you store your books at home, or at work? I’d love to know.

   

Wishing you all an amazing weekend. I hope you find time to relax and enjoy some great new books. Happy reading!

You can find more colourful bookcases here: Lizzie’s Pinterest page. 

The healing power of romance.

Hi everyone. How are you all? I hope 2022 has started off with some happiness.

There was an article in the media recently, about how forgettable romance books are and it hit a nerve with me. A few weeks before Christmas I was told I needed a biopsy and another procedure and I spent New Year’s Eve attending an anaesthetist appointment. I didn’t tell many people, as I didn’t want to worry them, or spoil their festivities. Isolating during such a busy time of year wasn’t much fun, but having these reads beside me helped my mental health.   I chose books by Heidi Swain, Katie Fforde and Mary Jayne Baker and all three caught my imagination, kept me turning page after page and eased a stressful situation.

I tried my best to enjoy every minute of the festive season, but worry simmered under the surface each day. I found it difficult to concentrate on writing my own romance novels, but turned to reading the books of other authors, to distract my mind with their beautiful stories and to give me moments of peace.  I even sat and read them as I was waiting to go into theatre, to help ease my nerves! These are books I will never forget. The NHS were absolutely incredible and I’m happy to say that my results are clear, which I’m very thankful for.

Romance novels make us happy and help us through hard times. The stories give us time to step away from worries and travel to places we’ve never been to before. They offer us comfort when we feel down and let us know we are not alone.  I have recently spoken to others who have also found solace from romance books before surgery. Any book of any genre, that brings enjoyment to our lives, is just as worthy as the next.

I’m very proud to have been writing romance books for about ten years now and the community of writers and readers I’ve met along the way, are something really special.  I write books to make people smile and if a story I’ve written, feels like a hug to the reader, then I’m happy. It doesn’t make the story or genre, any less important, if people enjoy it. Even if someone else doesn’t.

‘We can’t make everyone happy, we’re not pizza.’

Monday thoughts.

Tweet by Lizzie Chantree 19

Hello everyone. How are you all? Over the past week, I have begun to experiment with advertising. I’ve taught myself a bit about AMS ads, or Amazon Marketing Services ads. I’ve tried my first ad, which has just been approved, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’ve also been learning about Facebook ads, as they used to seem quite confusing to me, but I now understand about how to reach more readers and to let them know about my books. Most of my readers come from word of mouth, where someone discovers one of my books and then tells their friends and family. This is such a wonderful way for me to meet new readers of my work and it makes me smile so much when someone tells me that they have been recommended to my books.

Each time I read a new book now, I try to share it in as many places as possible, to help the author. A little can go a long way, so every review you give, recommendation you share, bookmark you give to a friend or business card you pin to a coffee shop noticeboard, is giving an author a helping hand.

5 ways to help authors find new readers:

  1. Tell your friends and family!
  2. Post reviews to online book groups.
  3. Share your love of a book on social media as many times as you can.
  4. Write a Facebook post about why you loved the book.
  5. This is actually the most important. Leave a review if you can. Reviews help readers you don’t know, find out about books you’ve read and enjoyed. I know some people hate writing reviews, as they don’t know what to write, but one or two lines saying something like…

‘I enjoyed this book because it’s well written and made me smile. If you like romantic comedies, you will love this book!’

… is often enough to make someone read the blurb and think about trying the story for themselves.

Have a fantastic week. From Lizzie.   🙂

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Happy New Year’s Eve  everyone.

I was lucky enough to receive six marketing books that I’d wished for, for Christmas this year. I’ve begun reading them and will share any insights on my regular Marketing blogs in 2019. I can’t wait to get back to working on my latest romance book, as I have written about 20,000 words  and would like to complete it in the near future.

I hope that you all have exciting plans for the New Year and that 2019 brings lots of happiness and success to you all. I can’t wait to discover some new reads and to share them here too. I’ve tried lots of different genres in 2018, but am still drawn to the ones I write in, which are romance and humour.

Wishing you all an amazing and fulfilling New Year.

The saying goes, If you love what you have, you have everything you need.

Happy 2019!

Tweet by Lizzie Chantree 9

Tweet by Lizzie Chantree 23

Introducing… Joan Livingston.

Today I would like to introduce you to fellow Crooked Cat author and former journalist, Joan Livingston. 

Joan-Livingston.jpeg

Joan writes…

Chasing the Case is my first attempt at writing a mystery. Like most of my adult fiction, it is set in the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts in the U.S. Besides living there for 25 years, I was a reporter covering those small, rural towns at the start of my thirty-year career in journalism. Even when my husband and I lived in Taos, New Mexico for 11 years, I couldn’t shake the hilltowns, which is one of the reasons we returned last summer.

Chasing the Case cover.jpeg

Chasing the Case synopsis

How does a woman disappear in a town of a thousand people? That’s a 28-year-old mystery Isabel Long wants to solve.

Isabel has the time given she just lost her husband and her job as the managing editor of a newspaper. (Yes, it’s been a bad year.) And she’s got a Watson — her 92-year-old mystery-loving mother who lives with her.

To help her case, Isabel takes a job at the local watering hole, so she can get up close and personal with those connected to the mystery.

As a journalist, Isabel never lost a story she chased. Now, as an amateur P.I., she’s not about to lose this case.

Chasing the Case officially launches May 18.

Here’s the link to order Chasing the Case in paperback or the Kindle version: http://mybook.to/chasingthecase

 

Social media:

Website: www.joanlivingston.net.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/

Twitter: @joanlivingston

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author

Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston

Litsy: JoanLivingston

Litsy.

Hello everyone. Happy new week. I’m working with my publisher on the cover design for my latest book this week, as well as beginning a completely new manuscript, which is exciting but oh so daunting!

I have just joined a readers and authors group called Litsy. Fellow authors told me about it and I would highly recommend it to people who love books. It is a community where people express their opinions on their latest reads, chat to authors and talk to each other about what they love or don’t like about their current reads. They post pictures of books and bookshops, which is like candy to an avid reader and they are so welcoming. It is a phone app and not available on computers. This is what Litsy says:

 

Where books make friends.

Litsy is a place to share and discover your favorite books with your favorite people.

The Litsy community is a groundswell of passionate readers, authors, celebrities, and more. Share bookish moments with Quotes, Reviews, and Blurbs. Measure Litfluenceto discover your “bookprint” in the world. Explore recommendations from readers, not algorithms.

Oh yeah, want to organize your reading list? Our app has stacks for that, too.

It’s fun.  It’s simple.  It’s all about the book.

 

The people registered there are called Littens and they are so supportive of writers and anyone who is really passionate about reading. I set my account up two weeks ago and have already talked to lots of book lovers there. My account is Lizzie Chantree if anyone wants to pop by and say hello.