Saturday 25 June 2016

Guest post by Carys Bray, author of The Museum of You

Welcome to Carys Bray, author of The Museum of You.  As part of her blog tour, Carys has kindly written a guest post about one of her favourite museums.
 
 
In my new novel The Museum of You, twelve year old Clover Quinn sorts through her mother’s belongings and curates an exhibition in the second bedroom of the house she shares with her Dad, Darren.
As part of The Museum of You blog tour, I’m writing about some of my favourite museums. In recent months it has been frustrating to read of the museum closures which appear to be disproportionately affecting the north of England. Museums are a great place to learn about our heritage; they’re often a testament to the efforts and dedication of working people, the men and women who built and made many of the things we take for granted today.
World Museum
When my children were small this was our favourite museum. It’s possible to spend a long afternoon there, even with several tiny, easy bored people in tow. It’s such a popular museum that the Liverpool Echo produced this handy guide for families who would like to visit.
I have a picture of my children, wide-eyed and rosy-cheeked, standing beside these dinosaur skeletons, but they wouldn’t let me use it.
The World Museum is full of exciting and creepy objects: a child mummy, a meteorite from Mars and Samurai armour. You can learn about space and see a display of clocks and watches from the 1500s onwards. There are over a million insects and other invertebrates at the museum. I love the drawers full of butterflies, moths and beautiful beetles; bees, wasps and ants. Each drawer opens like a beautiful surprise.
In the bug house there’s a giant model spider on the ceiling which wobbles every so often, as if it is about to climb down. One of my sons insists that frequent visits to the museum were the catalyst for my daughter’s terrible fear of spiders.
Sometimes the things we see in museums scare or discomfit us. Clover Quinn finds something unexpected in the bottom of the wardrobe in the second bedroom. An object with a sad story. That’s the thing with the past, once it is uncovered it may also need to be confronted.
 

Monday 13 June 2016

Steel Hawk Blog Blitz!


Introducing STEEL HAWK – a company of alpha-honorable heroes and spirited and strong heroines…
Heart-pounding romantic suspense set in a world of high-tech security, feuding royals, and missing diamonds. Strap in for sizzling chemistry and fast-paced, thrilling action all the way!
It all starts with an historical romantic suspense set in the birthplace of great engineering and design, The Great Exhibition, London, 1851:


Blurb: To Love a Thief, Steel Hawk, Book 1, by Jane Beckenham BUY LINK: AMAZON

It's one thing to lose your heart. Quite another to have it stolen.

Years ago, notorious jewel thief “The Raven” vanished into the shadows. In 1851, Nathan Hawk emerges into a life of respectability, determined to make up for past sins.
He and his business partner are introducing a lock they’re so sure can’t be broken, they’re displaying a priceless diamond, the Pasha Star, at the Great Exhibition. It’s bad enough catching a light-fingered young man trying to steal the stone. Worse when he realizes it’s the daughter of his old mentor.
Rose Valetta’s father has been kidnapped, and she needs the Star to buy his freedom. She never expected to come nose-to-nose with Nathan. Their reunion is fraught with tension, especially when they discover the diamond in Nathan’s impregnable case is not the Pasha Star.
With Nathan’s reputation in tatters, they race to find the real stone before it’s too late for Rose’s father. Too late to save the empire from a usurper. And too late to keep from losing their hearts.
Product Warnings
Contains a woman who dreams of a world with a level playing field, and an ex-thief who can run from his past but can’t hide from it.  
And moves to present-day: Steel Hawk has prospered for 150 years, securing some of the world’s most treasured possessions. But now a secret from the past threatens to destroy the company and a new generation must take up the fight.

 

Blurb: Heart of Steel, Steel Hawk, Book 2, by Eve Devon BUY LINK: AMAZON

Colleague, friend, lover…beautiful liar?

Adam Steel is in crisis mode. A recent exposé claims a founder of Steel Hawk was actually The Raven, an infamous jewel thief. Amid the ensuing damage control, all eyes are on his ability to develop a prototype to secure and protect the royal Pasha Star diamond.
He’s further blindsided when he learns his assistant, Honeysuckle Hawk, has a sordid past he never knew about. Proving he never really knew her, never should have trusted her, and definitely shouldn’t start falling for her.
With her dirty laundry flapping in the media storm, Honeysuckle’s first instinct is to run. Two things make her stay: Adam’s insistence it’s better to show the world a united front, and her heart’s insistence by his side is where she belongs.
High stakes and long hours ignite passion…until the diamond is stolen and Adam’s own prototype shows Honeysuckle is a thief. Dare he trust her to help him expose the real criminal—before the mastermind wreaks havoc on the royal family?

Product Warnings
Contains an über-hot, alpha-geek who’s good with his hands, a sassy reformed-rebel determined to prove she’s not a flake, romantic castles, gorgeous jewels, sleek and sexy technology, heart-pounding suspense…oh, and nipple tassels!

But with the battle only half-won, STEEL HAWK is about to learn that trust has a price…

 

Blurb: Dangerous Illusions, Steel Hawk, Book 3, by Sarah Balance – publishing August

Keep your lovers close, your enemies closer. Especially if they’re one and the same.

With Steel Hawk still reeling from explosions at Zarrenburg Castle and at its own headquarters, company lawyer Edward Long’s legendary stoicism has been severely tested. It’s clearly an inside job, and no one is deeper inside than Edward—which leaves him squarely in the center of a frame.
Someone is using him to bring down the company he loves. Worse, the PI that Adam Hawk sends to investigate…there’s something off about her. And something that seriously turns him on.
Operating under an assumed name, Sophie Hawk aims to dig deeper into the company’s systems than any other investigator would dare. Especially with the prime suspect’s hot-chocolate gaze tracking her every move.
As their dueling intellects strike sparks, the rising heat threatens the trip wires Edward has set up around his heart—and the secret that ties him to a man who’ll stop at nothing to claim his right to rule the house of Zarrenburg. Or, if he can’t have it, destroy it—and everyone connected to it.
Product Warnings
Contains agonizingly sweet kisses, dirty thoughts, dirtier talk, mutual trust stretched to the limit, and criminal abuse of a thousand-dollar suit jacket.

About the STEEL HAWK Authors:

Take three authors from three different corners of the world…
Jane Beckenham writes historical and contemporary romance after falling for stories about love and hope. Inspired by happy ever afters she found her own true love and together they adopted and raised two daughters. She lives with her family in New Zealand where writing is her addiction – and sure beats housework!

WEBSITE                   FACEBOOK              TWITTER

Eve Devon writes romantic comedy, contemporary fiction and romantic suspense with sexy heroes, sassy heroines, and happily ever afters… She lives in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with her very own sexy-hero husband!

WEBSITE                   TWITTER                   FACEBOOK 

Sarah Ballance lives on the US mid-Atlantic coast with her husband and children. She writes in many genres and loves creating unforgettable stories while putting her characters through an unkind amount of torture—a hobby that has nothing to do with living with six children!

WEBSITE                   FACEBOOK              TWITTER                             

So if you love historical romance or contemporary romance, steam-punk elements, inventors, royalty, diamonds, bad-boys, alpha-geeks, co-workers-to-lovers, revenge, and psychological suspense with your mystery; then immerse yourself in the world of STEEL HAWK… and let the seduction begin.

STEEL HAWK – strong as Steel, watchful as a Hawk

 

Saturday 11 June 2016

Recently I've Read...A Whole Lot of Romance

I've read some fantastic romance lately!  Here are the books that have set my heart aflutter - perfect love stories for long summer nights.
 
The One with the Engagement Party - Erin Lawless
 
 
Nora and Harry have just got engaged and so of course, it's time to celebrate! With their friends by their side they can start planning for the big day, but they each have their own hurdles to overcome. Perfect summer reading which left me gagging for more. Heartwarming and humorous, The One with the Engagement Party is Erin Lawless at her best.

The Sunshine and Biscotti Club - Jenny Oliver
 
 
Jenny Oliver whisked me away to the sun with this story of a group of friends helping to set up a baking holiday resort. As ever Oliver's descriptions of the food - aroma, taste, texture - are fantastic. Each character grows as the story progresses which makes this a satisfying romantic read. The only reason I didn't give this 5* is that it took me a long time to differentiate between the characters, especially the males, which meant I was referring back to make sure I wasn't getting muddled. All in all, a delightful summer read.

The Little Bookshop on the Seine - Rebecca Raisin
 
 
I loved this book! A story of self discovery and long distance romance set in a Paris bookshop. Rebecca writes setting and description beautifully - and creates characters that are easy to relate to through common themes of friendship, love and trust. A comforting read which I quickly became engrossed in - Rebecca Raisin has come up trumps again!  
 
Give them a try - they're the perfect blend of uplifting fun and love-riddled angst.  They're all available NOW.