Secrets from a book launch.

Happy new week everyone.  How are you? It’s been a hectic few days here, as my latest romance book, The little ice cream shop by the sea, launched. It’s been fun as I’ve been chatting online about ice cream, people’s favourite flavours and about how many of us wish we could be beside the sea and bathed in sunshine right now. The next best thing is a book full of laughter and romance by the sea!

Some of the interesting flavour combinations that have come up, are Pistachio, honeycomb, fig, lavender, coconut, peanut butter, banana caramel, or dark chocolate. Also some sorbets with alcohol, like Prosecco and cranberry or blackberry. You can join in that chat here on Twitter. My favourite combination is coffee and lemon!

 

It’s very strange  holding a book launch during lockdown. This is the second one I’ve done now, and I have been overwhelmed by the support of my network. This book has reached #1 in more than one category and is now an international bestseller, so I can’t thank you enough for reading, sharing social pages and telling your friends and family about it.  I’ve had people who have never seen my books before, share posts about it with friends too, which I’m very thankful for.  It’s wonderful to meet new readers.

A few things I did for my launch, in case it can help any other authors, are listed here:

  1. I planned my launch weeks ahead of time and scheduled in some social media posts and graphics, so that I had time to chat to readers all day.
  2. I posted photos of my genre and topic and engaged readers in chat about it. The topic I decided on was food, as my book is set in a beachside restaurant. This was a lot of fun as I’m almost as obsessed with food, as I am with books!
  3. I asked other authors and book bloggers if they would mind hosting my book on launch day. (Booking a tour with a professional service in advance is a great idea too. I didn’t do that this time, but often do).
  4. I posted similar book graphics to Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and ran a prize giveaway.
  5. I engaged in chat on launch day in book groups.
  6. I scheduled a newsletter to my subscriber list and ran a unique giveaway just for my subscribers.

I hope this helps and that if you have downloaded the book or bought a paperback, that the story fills your days with sunshine.  Genie, Ada and Cal were a lot of fun to write about and I’m now thinking about the possibility of writing a sequel.

Have an amazing week everyone.

Monday motivation.

Morning coffee meme by Lizzie Chantree.png

Hello everyone. I hope you had an amazing weekend. I have just finished my first chick lit author blog hop. It had 417 comments and well over 600 engagements and people are still commenting, on one single post. Phew! It took a lot of time, commitment and effort, but I met lots of new readers, some of whom have already downloaded the summer read, Babe Driven, from the FaceBook hop and I would definitely recommend for other authors to give it a try. I can’t wait to chat to the people I met there about my books and to let them know about my new manuscripts.

I really enjoyed the gifs people posted. I asked the question: What would you do if the world’s hottest rock stars moved into the villa next door and invited you to a party, as Babe Driven is set on exotic island and full of exciting celebrities who are out to cause mischief. The resulting posts were hilarious and my husband kept asking my why I was giggling at my phone every day. The way everyone jumped in with good humour and the fact that they were open to learning about a different author that they might not have heard of before made it even more fun.

I hope that all of the new subscribers to this blog enjoy it and I look forward to chatting to you here.

Babe Driven beach meme





 

Work in progress.

Hi everyone. This was supposed to be an introducing post for an author, but there was a last minute change of plan. I thought I’d tell you all about my latest book. I have written about 45% of my 7th book and have had to do a bit of juggling as I’m currently also updating the first three books I wrote. I’ve just got one more edit of the third book and all of my books will have shiny new covers and tighter stories.

I visited Spain for a few days and it was wonderful to walk by the sea, catch up on reading some books I’ve been meaning to read for ages and also to relax a little. I took some photos of the books I finished, as I thought the authors might like to see their books travelling abroad. I really enjoy seeing photos of my own books sent in by readers when they travel, so I decided to take some snaps too and let the authors know. They were very happy, which made my day.

Do you take photos of books you read whilst abroad and share them with the authors? It’s a big help for them if they are allowed to use them for publicity and it’s also a lot of fun. Have a great week.

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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

 

Have work, will travel.

It’s holiday season and I’ve been trying to be organised, as the term finishes for this school year. Fitting writing into family life can be great fun, but also a challenge. I write all of my books by hand in A4 green Tink notebooks and then transcribe them onto a computer. This means that I can easily pick my work up and carry it anywhere with me. This made me think about travel and holidays. I do like to relax on holiday, but also find it a great inspiration for my work. Different scenery and a change in temperature can make you feel more at ease and able to let the words flow. I particularly love to write in Spain and France as I enjoy looking at the countryside and the architecture. The U.K. inspires me with it’s history and eclectic styles too.

If you are stuck in any kind of writing rut, perhaps a change of scenery is all you need. I don’t mean two weeks in Cannes, but even working outside or moving rooms for a while with your laptop if you have one, or taking your notebooks and sitting on a beach nearby or somewhere with a good view, might be enough to change your mood and give you fresh ideas.

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Top tips for utilising the views nearby. 3 Quick Tips. 

  1. Plan a day where you can take your writing tools to a new location. Sit and take in the scenery and draw inspiration from your surroundings.
  2. If you are already on holiday, keep a notebook in your bag or pocket. You never know when you might see something interesting, or notice a location that could fit seamlessly into your latest book, blog or article.
  3. Take photos. These photos can become your own stock photography. Keep them in folders on your computer and instead of buying stock images for promotion, upload your own images into software like Canva to keep costs to a minimum for your own designs. These photos might also come in useful when you are writing about locations for descriptive reference.

Introducing… Jane Bwye.

Introducing author Jane Bwye:

From Jane:

Although I was born here in the UK, at the age of three I went with my parents to Kenya via Calcutta after WW2. I was brought up in that wonderful country, went to school there, got into Oxford, but left early because I was so homesick; I got married, was widowed with a 6-month old daughter, then I had twins; I remarried, and we brought up our six children in Kenya.

I fulfilled one of my dreams by riding with my family over the hills and far away. Another dream was to travel round the world, which I did for ten months, before my 60th birthday. You can read more about my travels on my blog if you follow this link: https://jbwye.com/category/travels/

However, please be aware that the nature of a blog dictates that the latest post is read first!

Jane Bwye

This photo was taken in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2001, towards the end of my westward journey, during which I walked many miles. The solar hat was the catalyst for several chance conversations.

My third dream was to write a book, and have it published by a REAL publisher. After seven years of searching, Crooked Cat Books and I found each other.

Dreams do come true, if you don’t give up.

Grass Shoots: A tender African Love StoryBreath of Africa: a tale of love and life in a fascinating country

These two books form a family saga, set mainly in Kenya, covering the years from the 1950’s (the Mau Mau emergency) up to present times. They contain love stories and will give you psychological thrills; they explore interactions between people of different races and they address the thorny problems of charity and foreign aid; superstition and Christian faith clash; and the stunning beauty of the country is a major character in itself.

Breath of Africa: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B00BOAK0FA

Grass Shoots: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B01MRAG2F3

My website: http://janebwye.com/

Holiday reads.

Guest blog by That’s Travel Insurance.

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Books and holidays go together, by Maureen Juniper.

 

Leading a hectic life,  a sunny afternoon sitting on a beach or by a pool with a glass of something cool and a good book is my idea of heaven! Travel can be good fun, but tiring, and a great read helps to make it more relaxing.

Now that it is easier to take several books on holiday via a Kindle or Ipad and looking around me whilst at the airport recently, it seemed other travellers felt the same, by the number of E-readers I saw. Not having to worry about adding weight to a case is also a big advantage.

I still prefer to have a physical book when flying, as although I love traveling I am a nervous  flyer and the more engaging the book the better.

Having read Lizzie Chantree’s other books, I took her latest to read on the plane. It is a story of love, intrigue and passion with an unexpected twist at the end. No one was who they seemed in the story and for once I was a little bit sorry when a flight arrived at it’s destination on time.

Check out Maureen’s business here:

MJ www.thatsinsurance.com  we rate, compare and review all travel insurers. The only website you need to search for, when you need travel insurance. Unbiased reviews.

To buy your own copy of Ninja School Mum, Click here.

Looking for a great new read?

Susan Roebuck

COMING SOON! “Forest Dancer” by award winning author Susan Roebuck, will be here in February 2018, published by CrookedCat Books. This novel is set in Portugal in the forests outside Lisbon and as I have pre-ordered a copy, I can’t wait to read it!

Portugal

From the author:

It’s such a varied country with different cultures and landscapes. In one day you can drive from the north through national parks, ancient stone villages, past rocky mountains and steep hills covered in vineyards, to the more populated Centre with its famous Coimbra University, the walled town of Obidos down to rocking, vibrant and beautiful Lisbon. Cross over the vast Tagus river onto the south bank and travel through the plains of the Alentejo, past fields of wild-flowers, sunflowers, cork and olive groves with villages of white and blue cottages until the well-known, glamorous Algarve appears, its sparkle reflected in the azure sea because that’s as far as you can go on mainland Portugal.

The country is 900 years old, revels in the fact that it is Britain’s oldest ally (thanks to Queen Philippa of Lancaster who married Dom João I in the 14th century), and, in the fifteen and sixteenth centuries created a huge empire overseas thanks to its New World Discoveries. Portuguese is even today one of the most spoken languages in the world (thanks, largely, to Brazil).

Living in such a beautiful place, I decided to write three novels set here.

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“Rising Tide” was set in a small (fictional) fishing village on the little-known Alentejo coast.

“Forest Dancer” is my new novel, published by Crooked Cat Books, and is set in the mountains just 20 miles west of Lisbon

“Joseph Barnaby” will be published by Crooked Cat Books in 2018, and is set on the island of Madeira.

Forest Dancer - Susan Roebuck

Book blurb : It’s a long way to go to create a new life for yourself.

Classical ballerina, Flora Gatehouse, has no choice but to take a risk. Having failed an important ballet audition in London, she moves to a small cottage in a forest just outside Lisbon, Portugal, her only inheritance following her father’s death.

Soon, Flora is involved in village life, where fate takes a new twist when she becomes attracted to forest ranger, Marco. But they are off to a shaky start.

Can Flora find acceptance in a foreign land, in a magical place that harbours secrets and heartache?

 

Book Links:

Forest Dancer (paperback and ebook) on Amazon : myBook.to/ForestDancer1

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sueroebuck

Blog: http://www.susanroebuck.com

 

 

The Cocktail Bar.

When Cocktails Take Over Glastonbury High Street!

What could possibly go wrong?

Actually, perhaps we should be asking ‘what could possibly go right?’

In talented author, Isabella May’s second novel, “The Cocktail Bar”, which launches on February 13th 2018, the mystical town of Glastonbury – and its residents’ lives – will never be the same again.

Why?

Because ex indie rock star, River Jackson, has returned to his roots after a decade on the road, touring with his band, Avalonia and ‘has the audacity’ to come swanning back into town, buying up a former working class pub complete with skittle alley… only to turn it into a cocktail bar.

Well, if anybody out there has ever been to this one-off Somerset destination, then they will know first-hand that Caipirinha and candles do not mix… much less Cosmopolitans and the traditional Scrumpy Farmhouse Cider.

The Cocktail Bar is available for pre-order NOW on Amazon via this universal link: http://myBook.to/thecocktailbar 

-Before you know it, your pint of cider will be a thing of the past.-

The Cocktail Bar blurb: 


Rock star, River Jackson, is back in his hometown of Glastonbury to open a cocktail bar… and the locals aren’t impressed.

Seductive Georgina is proving too hot to handle; band mate, Angelic Alice, is messing with his heart and his head; his mum is a hippie-dippy liability; his school friends have resorted to violence – oh, and his band manager, Lennie, AND the media are on his trail.

But River is armed with a magical Mexican elixir which will change the lives of the Three Chosen Ones. Once the Mexican wave of joy takes a hold of the town, he’s glad he didn’t lose his proverbial bottle.

Pity he hasn’t taken better care of the real one…

 

Author Bio:


Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalucia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the sea and the mountains. When she isn’t having her cake and eating it, sampling a new cocktail on the beach, or ferrying her children to and from after school activities, she can usually be found writing.

As a co-founder and a former contributing writer for the popular online women’s magazine, The Glass House Girls – www.theglasshousegirls.com – she has also been lucky enough to subject the digital world to her other favourite pastimes, travel, the Law of Attraction, and Prince (The Purple One).

She has recently become a Book Fairy, and is having lots of fun with her imaginative ‘drops’!

The Cocktail Bar is her second novel, following on from the hit sensation, Oh! What a Pavlova, published in 2017. Her third novel is currently being polished up and involves copious amounts of churros con chocolate: watch this space…

Twitter – @IsabellaMayBks
Instagram – @isabella_may_author

Excerpt taken from Chapter Six of The Cocktail Bar:

If it wasn’t for his celebrity status she’d have been utterly humiliated. Six people turned up for the official opening night. Just six! And one of those was Heather. It was like a sketch out of a very bad comedy.

“There will be one rule in this bar and one rule only,” River announced. “I’ll never serve you more than two cocktails of an evening.” A flurry of muffled voices ensued. “Why?” he paused until he’d regained their attention, “because the cocktail is to be savoured, not devoured. The construction of a cocktail is a work of art; the degustation of a cocktail is an evening at the theatre. You wouldn’t eat a three course meal during The Phantom of the Opera; in the same way, you won’t drink three courses of cocktails in this bar.”

Fabulous, there went all of Georgina’s future tips every time a starry-eyed customer thought he was in with a chance with her. What a stuck up thing to say. People knew their limits when it came to drink. You might get away with this in some swanky speakeasy in the capital, the kind of place ‘the other half’ visited before their soiree in a plummy theatre, but in a small town like this, it was an insult that would only drive away footfall. He should have run this past her first. She’d soon have persuaded him to up it to four. Two cocktails did not comprise a night out. This was beyond ludicrous.

She gave him a conspiratorial nod to keep up the charade anyway. What else could she do? Yes, her own reputation in this gossip-rife town might be at stake now, but she was doing this for Blake – and her dad. She just had to stick with it. There was still time to turn things around. If nothing else, the hearsay that wended its way out of here tonight was going to prick up so many only-too-willing-ears to put his outlandish theory to the test. The gathered ensemble clearly didn’t know whether to huddle at one table to avoid the mortifyingly, socially embarrassing phenomenon of rattling around at a party, or to do just that, flinging themselves far and wide to create the illusion of roaring success. How the first floor of the bar would ever be populated, she had no idea.

Georgina needed a tipple to deal with this herself, but instead she held her head high, remembering beauty’s power to take the edge off disappointment. Ever the hospitality pro, she sashayed over to a couple of decidedly middle-aged ladies who had evidently just finished work, dressed as they were in their hideous High Street travel agents’ regalia.

“What can I get you, girls?” she prompted, notebook at the ready.

River had asked her to try to memorise cocktail names, said it looked more authentic that way, but it was hardly going to make or break business if she did jot them down, and besides, it was still early days as far as her own training went, some of these creations had some unnecessarily complicated titles.

“We just can’t decide,” said the older one. “What does your sexy bartender over there recommend?” the ever-so-slightly younger one chimed in, unable to tear her besotted eyes off River as he needlessly demonstrated his showy pouring skills in the background, only adding to their collective pool of drool.

Georgina felt her hackles rise, and a twinge of a distant relative to jealousy stir in the pit of her stomach. Was this what she was going to have to contend with every night? He was hers, all hers, and as much as that was simply part of a revenge-fuelled plan, she was not used to sharing her treats with anybody, and not about to start.

“Why don’t I ask him to surprise you then? Yes, what a great idea,” she said, catching River’s eye in a moment of perfect synchronicity and walking back to the bar before they had chance to protest.

“They’ve asked for two Earthquakes,” she said, slapping her notebook down on the counter and letting her pen catch up with her mischief.

“But that’s not even on the menu,” said River, clearly alarmed at the strength of their choice.

“Well, these ladies do seem very experienced when it comes to their spirits. Best give them what they’ve asked for. I’m just as surprised as you are, but we can’t be discerning or sexist when it comes to serving up Absinthe. There’s a very good reason they let it back into the States in 2007.”

“I’m impressed, George… Georgina, Georgina.”

She scowled.

“You are a little powerhouse of knowledge, aren’t you?” he winked, and then heard the laughter coming from the travel agents’ table which clearly helped to back up their letting-their-hair-down choice of drink. “Hopefully they’ve both got a day off tomorrow.”

He turned to find a couple of Champagne coupe glasses and Georgina breathed an imaginary sigh of relief. This was going to be entertaining all right.
The Cocktail Bar, by Isabella May

Jump into a FREE book!

If you love a fun filled romance read, then today is your lucky day!

Update: Babe Driven is ranked #1 on Amazon.co.uk for free books and #3 on Amazon.com! This is down to the amount of support everyone has shown in giving this book a try and sharing it with their friends on social media and by word of mouth. Thank you so much! #YouRock 

My first novel, Babe Driven is free to download from   24/03/2017- 28/03/2017  

Grab your own copy today.

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Free book links:   Amazon.co.uk   Amazon.com

Description: Babe Driven.

Driving straight out of trouble and into paradise! A laugh out loud, contemporary romance read full of humour and exotic locations.

Harriet’s crazily successful business idea is under serious threat, and the danger seems to be coming from inside her own family. She whisks her sister and her friends away to an exotic location to try and work out whose side they are on. It’s time to start damage limitation.

When the girls arrive at the glorious villa owned by Harriet’s maverick business partner Nikki, they find a gorgeous band and their sexy lead singer Max staying next door, out to entice their new neighbours into all kinds of trouble.

This isn’t a holiday for Harriet and she can’t afford to be distracted. She has to sell her business idea to the powerful resort owner, the elusive Mr Grant, while she is there, or she may not have a business to go back to. Harriet will have to choose between family and friends, business or pleasure. For someone who stays out of the limelight, even though her new company is the hottest ticket in town, she’s going to have to avoid the front pages of every newspaper if she wants to survive the ride!

What reviewers are saying about Babe Driven:

1. ‘A great read! The story gripped me from the start and I couldn’t put the book down. The plot was intriguing as the relationships develop and some people aren’t who they appear to be! A great holiday read or indeed curled up cosy in front of the fire!

’

2. ‘A real hoot all the way through and very entertaining. Love the authors style of writing and the characters she creates, read it over two days and would have read another one. Really rather good!’

3. ‘Light, entertaining fun read which would make the perfect companion on a summer holiday. I liked the characters, and thought the plot was quite original, hoping to see more from the author in the near future.’

4. ‘This was a fun light read. There is romance involved but it’s more than that. It’s mostly the story of a strong independent businesswoman who’s trying to save her business. She happens to be beautiful, and so everyone underestimates her. I really like this character and enjoyed the plot. You keep getting little surprises along the way that keep you guessing. I would call this a great book when you want to be distracted from all of the real worries you have in life. I’m a sucker for happy endings, so this book left me with a big smile!

’

Books by author Lizzie Chantree