RNA

Introducing Sandra Danby.

/ lizziechantree / 4 Comments

Today it’s my pleasure to introduce you to popular author, Sandra Danby. Sandra now writes fiction full-time. Her short stories and flash fiction have been published online and in anthologies. Sandra is now writing ‘Sweet Joy’, third in the ‘Identity Detective’ series, set in London during The Blitz. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association ‘New Writers Scheme’.

Meet Sandra

I’m originally from East Yorkshire and, though I’ve lived in and around London for a long time now, my heart belongs to my seaside home. In fact I feel the call to return becoming stronger and stronger as I grow older. My family still lives in the same place and my oldest friend too, so I visit often. The black-and-white photograph is from a booth at Butlins Filey, taken on a Sunday School outing when I was ten. This was a big deal as our usual outings were to educational places such as Castle Howard. I’d been longing to go to Butlins as I’d heard about the dodgems. Note, this photo was taken in August but I’m wearing an Aran sweater, knitted for me by my mum.

Yorkshire childhood, cliffs at Bempton - photo @SandraDanby-1

Being a Northerner is deeply ingrained. I drink [very] strong tea, gallons of it every day. When it gets colder, I put on a jumper. The central heating is never turned above 18°C by me, but when I’m out my husband zaps it up to 23°C which feels tropical to me! And I make great meals from leftovers. Given all of this, it was no surprise to my family that Yorkshire features so strongly in my second book, Connectedness.

And so does my second spiritual home… Spain. For the last ten years, we’ve lived part of the time in Southern Spain near Málaga. Once I’d decided that the heroine of Connectedness should be an artist it seemed logical to make her a Yorkshire woman. And as Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, it was quick hop and a step to take Justine to art college there.

Connectedness by Sandra Danby

About ‘Connectedness’

TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, ARTIST JUSTINE TREE HAS IT ALL… BUT SHE ALWAYS HAS A SECRET THAT THREATENS TO DESTROY EVERYTHING

Justine’s art sells around the world, but does anyone truly know her? When her mother dies, she returns to her childhood home in Yorkshire where she decides to confront her past. She asks journalist Rose Haldane to find the baby she gave away when she was an art student, but only when Rose starts to ask difficult questions does Justine truly understand what she must face.

Is Justine strong enough to admit the secrets and lies of her past? To speak aloud the deeds she has hidden for 27 years, the real inspiration for her work that sells for millions of pounds. Could the truth trash her artistic reputation? Does Justine care more about her daughter, or her art? And what will she do if her daughter hates her?

This tale of art, adoption, romance and loss moves between now and the Eighties, from London’s art world to the bleak isolated cliffs of East Yorkshire and the hot orange blossom streets of Málaga, Spain.

A family mystery for fans of Maggie O’Farrell, Lucinda Riley, Tracy Rees and Rachel Hore.

Ignoring Gravity by Sandra Danby

About the ‘Identity Detective’ series

Rose Haldane reunites the people lost through adoption. The stories you don’t see on television shows. The difficult cases. The people who cannot be found, who are thought lost forever. Each book in the ‘Identity Detective’ series considers the viewpoint of one person trapped in this horrible dilemma. In the first book of the series, Ignoring Gravity, it is Rose’s experience we follow as an adult discovering she was adopted as a baby. Connectednessis the story of a birth mother and her longing to see her baby again. Sweet Joy, the third novel, will tell the story of a baby abandoned during The Blitz.

Unlike Rose Haldane, Sandra is not adopted.

Links

‘Connectedness’ at Amazon https://amzn.to/2q6qy5Z

‘Ignoring Gravity’ at Amazon http://amzn.to/1oCrxHd

Author website http://www.sandradanby.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/SandraDanby

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/sandradanbyauthor

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/sandradan1/



Introducing Arabella Sheen.

/ lizziechantree / 9 Comments

Today I am happy to introduce you to such a lovely lady and talented author, Arabella Sheen. I met Arabella through the Romantic Novelists’ Association and it has been a pleasure to learn more about her work. Today she will be sharing the news about her latest sweet Regency release…Westbury.

Chit-Chat from Arabella Sheen…

Lizzie has asked me to tell her readers a little bit about me…so here goes.

Before, in a previous life, I left school with a few GCSE’s and trained as a nurse. Having qualified as a General Nurse, I then specialized in theatre nursing and moved to Holland in the Netherlands, where, for nearly twenty years, I lived, worked and breathed hospitals. I loved it. The work, the people, the place…everything. It was a brilliant life experience and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. The challenge of solving health problems whilst helping sick people at the same time was amazing. Although hard work, nursing is a rewarding job and one that I would recommend to anyone. Sadly, due to personal health reasons and the need for family support, I returned to England and my career track changed completely.

By day, I’m now employed as a chef in a busy international hotel and by night, I’m pounding the keys on the laptop, working on my latest work-in-progress.

Writing has always held a fascination for me. I have drawers, shelves, cupboards, and bookcases, all filled and covered with books. Anywhere and everywhere a book can be stored, you’ll find one. And it was simply a step from the longing to read romance novels, that the urge to write books evolved. The creation of stories has always captivated me.

I was fortunate enough to have been born and raised in Clifton, Bristol, England, (where I now live), and grew up surrounded by beautiful classical Georgian architecture. The romance of the Regency era has always held me spellbound and my imagination runs riot whenever I think about what could have happened behind some of the doors and in some of the buildings I walk by on a daily basis.

But, it was while travelling to a RNA Chapter meeting which was being held with fellow authors in Lacock, a historical village in the heart of Wiltshire, England, (where Cranford, Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abby, not to mention Harry Potter, were filmed), that the urge to write Westbury evolved.

AS-Westbury-arr-300x450 (1)

BOOK  BLURB:                    Westbury

Can Miss Georgina Morton surrender her independence and accept the Duke’s love?

Miss Georgina Morton, at the age of four-and-twenty, with a modest annual income of four hundred pounds, believes she has no need of a husband and can manage quite nicely without one. Yet within a matter of weeks, she’s betrothed to Giles Glentworth, the Sixth Duke of Westbury, and bound for Regency London.

Set in rural Wiltshire and elegant, fast-paced London…a runaway ward, a shooting at mid-night, and a visit to fashionable Almack’s, are only a few of the adventures Georgina enjoys while falling for the Corinthian charms of the Duke.

 

Arabella Sheen - Westbury - Cover - Feb 2019

BOOK EXCERPT:

The Marquis was a fine figure of a man. Handsome enough, with a crop of thick, raven-black hair swept back from his brow in the style known as a Brutus. His features, although not rugged, were strong and compelling. And his penetrating eyes, by startling contrast, were of a cool steely grey that was mesmerising. But his good looksand manly attractiveness did not sway her from the fact that his gentleman-likebehaviour wasn’t up to scratch or that he was shouting, giving her a dressing down in public.

Flustered and on the point of apologising for her hasty action, Georgina remained silent. When she heard his angry words and the tone of voice in which he spoke, she pointedly ignored his outburst and concentrated solely on straightening her lopsided bonnet. But when his horses moved, restlessly shaking their manes for attention, her bonnet, which had by now fallen from her head and dangled by its ribbons down her back, was completely forgotten.

Drawing near to where the high-perch phaetonstood, and with total disregard for her safety, she’d gone to the front of the carriage, taken the horses’ bridles in her gloved hands, and tried to calm them. Stroking their forelocks, she’d spoken soothing words before fixing a steely glare of disdain upon their owner.

Never before had she been more thankful for all the hours she’d spent in her bedchamber as a young girl, standing in front of the mirror, practising and perfecting the art of delivering the harshest of stares imaginable. Any lesser man than the Marquis would have baulked at herglower, but her unflinching look seemed not to affect him.

Arabella Sheen - Regency Romance - Banner

 

Westbury  – Ballrooms, Cotillions and Almack’s

Available from:

Amazon Universal:http://bit.ly/2TAndcI

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2DbG1Ie

Barnes & Noble – Nook:http://bit.ly/2RHldOb

Kobo:http://bit.ly/2GaHUJe

Website:http://www.arabellasheen.co.uk/sweet-regency.html

and other reputable ebook retailers.

 

Arabella keeps in touch with her readers on:

Website:http://www.arabellasheen.co.uk/

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

Twitter:https://twitter.com/ArabellaSheen

 

 

 

Introducing Ros Rendle.

/ lizziechantree / 8 Comments

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to author Ros Rendle today. Ros is a fellow member of the Romantic Novelists Association.

IMG_2006

From Ros:

I am Ros Rendle and I tell fibs for a living. Well. . . don’t all writers? It’s the best job there is, living in many different worlds and meeting the people of my dreams, ensuring they do what I want and having happy endings.

I used to be a head teacher, writing policy documents, essays and letters, although also telling the odd story that young children seemed to enjoy. Now, writing for adults, the challenge is more demanding but very satisfying, especially when people give honest and positive reviews, I win awards, and manage to get an Amazon best-seller sticker.

When we moved to live in France, I had time to explore my imagination using many of the local colourful people and situations as stimulus. Support from the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ scheme gave me the impetus I needed to succeed. Sense and French Ability was my first published novel, followed quickly by Peace of Time. My publisher has these two are on a price reduction currently.

A series, about three sisters during times of major 20thcentury conflict, are also on Amazon and gaining good reviews. These are Flowers of Flanders, Flowers of Resistance and a novella, Delphi’s Dilemma. I collect Fumsup lucky charms that were given to soldiers in WW1 for a speedy and safe return. In Flowers for Flandersone sister tells another a malicious lie which will affect the course of all their lives. When Michael goes to war, Rose gives her Fumsup to Michael. To discover whether it works at all and whether he comes back to her or her sister, you will need to read the book.

IMG_1917

Design

Further information can be found at :

www.rosrendleauthor.co.uk

www.facebook.com/RosalindRendleAuthor

www.twitter.com/ros_rendle

www.instagram.com/ros_rendle

6 friends - or are they_love, betrayal and life-changing decisionsfrom best selling, award winning author

and books are available from:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Ros+Rendle&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

or

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ros+rendle&ref=nb_sb_noss

Thank you, Lizzie, for this opportunity. I hope people continue to enjoy my books and the next should be revealing itself soon.

Introducing Julie Ryan.

/ lizziechantree / 5 Comments

49165546_10156896214384035_2147153751561994240_o

About Julie:

Julie Ryan’s roots are in a small mining village in South Yorkshire. After a degree in French Language and Literature, wanderlust kicked in and she lived and worked in France, Poland, Thailand and Greece. Her spirit enriched, her imagination fired, Julie started a series of mystery romances; thrillers set in the Greek Isles. She has also written a Christmas rom-com and her latest work, Finding Rose, is a contemporary novel with a strong historical element.

A prolific and well-known book review blogger, Julie does her writing and reviewing from rural Gloucestershire, where she lives with her husband, son and rescue cat. She manages to write a book a year although without their help, she would probably write more quickly. She is a book addict and will soon need either a bigger house for her collection or a new husband!

When not writing or reading or eating chocolate, she can be found treading the boards in the local amateur dramatic society – Oh yes she can!

 

Finding Rose – blurb

When three sisters, Ginny, Sally and Molly are brought together at their father’s hospital bed, they are forced to confront not only the prospect of a future without him but also the secrets of the past that have kept them apart.

Their father, Eddie Matthews, drugged up on morphine, seems to be rambling but could he, in fact, be reliving previous lives as a Tudor monk and as a soldier on the Front in WW1? Struggling to speak he reveals that he has a secret and urges his daughters to ‘Find Rose’. Can the sisters put aside their differences to fulfil his last wish?

 

v1

Finding Rose Buy the book here

Untitled design-2
 

Introducing Emily Royal.

/ lizziechantree / 8 Comments

Today’s Introducing guest is author and fellow member of the Romantic Novelists Association, Emily Royal. I absolutely love the photos she has sent me for this post, especially the first one where she seems to be being kissed by a snake! I was also interested to learn that Emily used to be an airline pilot. Read on to find out more…

 

Over to Emily:

Emily lives in rural Scotland with her husband and two teenage daughters, together with their menagerie of pets including hamsters, chickens and 12 snakes. Despite popular opinion, her snakes are all friendly and include Twinkle, an attention-seeking boa constrictor and Burma, an unimaginatively-named Burmese Python, who loves to come out for cuddles. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, currently serving on the committee, and graduated from their New Writers’ Scheme.

Emily’s debut novel The Sins of the Sire, was published by Tirgearr on 13 March 2019 and is a gritty, dark and sexy historical romance set in the Highlands of Scotland – a tale of vengeance and atonement set during William Wallace’s rebellion against Edward I. It’s the first in her Dark Highland Passions series and she’s currently writing the next book in the series. The Sins of the Sire is available as an e-book and is free on Kindle Unlimited.

Her second published book will be a standalone Medieval Romance, published later in the year by Wild Rose Press. Another dark and sexy historical, the book has themes of Outlander, Game of Thrones and The Handmaid’s Tale.

IMG_1467

Emily currently works as an actuary after having indulged in a brief dream of becoming an airline pilot almost 30 years ago when she left university. Her job enables her to travel, so she accumulates air miles as a passenger and uses her time waiting around at airports for drafting. She also has the opportunity to be creative with her job which has enabled her to teach and present lectures at various companies and institutions around the world, including a university in Beijing where the students were very interested to learn about romantic fiction, as well as actuarial science!

Emily is a sucker for a dark story, particularly if it contains a tortured hero, and she cites Gollum as her all-time favourite literary character.

IMG_1465

Emily can be found at:

Twitter: @eroyalauthor

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

Website: http://www.emroyal.com/

Links for The Sins of the Sire:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N974NW5/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N974NW5/

 

Introducing Francine Beaton.

/ lizziechantree / 2 Comments

Today’s special guest is Francine Beaton. She’s a fellow member of the Romantic Novelists Association and I’ll certainly be adding her books to my TBR list.

4194-19_Francine Beaton

About Francine:

FRANCINE BEATON is a romance writer who lives in South Africa with her Scottish husband and teenage daughter. When she’s not reading or writing about love and Happily Ever After, she’s most likely busy painting or taking photos of everything that catches her eye. During rugby season, you’ll either find her next to the pitch or in front of the television, following her favourite teams. It’s probably not difficult to figure out why her debut novel, Eye on the Ball, as well as the series, Playing for Glory, has rugby as a theme. Whenever she gets the opportunity, she loves travelling to faraway places and considers Scotland her second home.

Francine Beaton

BUYING LINKS:

Eye on the Ball: https://amzn.to/2TiIFDj

Obstruction: https://amzn.to/2Hm1SC2

Taste for Coffee: https://amzn.to/2QNzgBh

Making the Right Call: https://amzn.to/2O6wsma

Summertime Blue: https://amzn.to/2TtksK3

Blou Somer: https://amzn.to/2RxXnEp

My Blue Heaven: https://amzn.to/2B8mUOZ

ʼn Stukkie Blou Hemel: https://amzn.to/2RTQqm8

HYPERLINKS

https://www.francinebeaton.com/

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francinebeaton_official/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/BeatonFrancine

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomfrancinebeaton

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Francine-Beaton/e/B07BJH92HR

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/francine-beaton



Introducing Rosie Dean.

/ lizziechantree / 7 Comments

It’s my great pleasure to introduce you to romantic fiction author, Rosie Dean, today. Rosie is a fellow member of The Romantic Novelists Association and I can’t wait to find out what you think of her fabulous work. I absolutely love receiving the author photos I request, as they say so much about the writer’s personality. Here you can see Rosie with her cover designer, Joe Brown, in one photo and another with her dog Dillon, in Spain.

Meet Rosie:

Although Rosie Dean has been writing stories and plays since she was big enough to type she came to full-time fiction writing after teaching art and pottery in high schools, and then writing marketing materials for the corporate world.

Now, happily inhabiting the imaginary world of her characters, Rosie loves to write sassy, romantic fiction with a sense of humour and, sometimes, a sense of the ridiculous – because we all know life and love aren’t exactly how we’d like them to be.

Rosie often draws on her past experiences for the content of her books; Vicki is a teacher of art, Gigi is a sculptor, Millie works in marketing but runs an amateur dramatic group for teenagers in her spare time, and Chloe is trying to save a theatre from being bulldozed.

Each heroine is looking for her hero, and her search is invariably fraught with chaos, drama and some amusing misunderstandings.

Rosie is lucky enough to split her time between southern Spain and the Isle of Wight – where she set her latest book, Gigi’s Island Dream.

Rosie has four romantic comedies available on Amazon which you can buy via her author page:       http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Dean/e/B00GML9CU0

Millie’s Game Plan

Vicki’s Work of Heart

Chloe’s Rescue Mission

Gigi’s Island Dream

 

Grab a copy of her books and visit her social media pages here:

E-mail                                     rosiedean.author@gmail.com

Website/blog                          http://www.rosie-dean.com

Facebook                                http://www.facebook.com/RosieDeanWriter

Twitter                                    http://twitter.com/RosieDeanAuthor

Goodreads                              www.goodreads.com/RosieDean

Amazon (Author Page)          http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Dean/e/B00GML9CU0

BookBub                                 http://www.bookbub.com/authors/rosie-dean