Sara Mendes de Costa guest post *Peanuts and Eggcups Blog Tour*

  I'm welcoming Sara Mendes de Costa to Books with Bunny today as part of the tour for her new release Peanuts and Eggcups.  Sara's talking dating today...

 

 

I’ve never really been a dater. My general reaction is…dating? Yeeeech! Scary! OK, I guess what I mean is, I’ve never been into regularly dating lots of guys to see how things pan out – great if you can do it, good on you! Might as well keep going until that guy or gal who’s fabulous comes along, I’m just not very good at it! – or rather, I use up so much energy and adrenaline, and come back in a heap! All that small talk and nerves!

For me, in the past, I’ve generally either got to know someone so that by the time we went out it was likely to be a sure thing, or I’ve had that ‘love’ at first sight experience. So a first date was exciting and led to a relationship.

I remember agreeing to go out on a date when I was a lot younger. I don’t know what made me say yes; I guess I was quite chuffed he’d shown an interest, but when it came to it I couldn’t go through with it! I was really anxious and didn’t actually fancy him at all. My mum had to go out and tell him I wasn’t well and lie on my behalf – she wasn’t best pleased I can tell you! In the end my friend and I had a double date with him and his friend – safety in numbers and all that - but when he turned round from the car’s passenger seat to talk to us sitting in the back, he had the most AWFUL bad breath! I mean seriously bad!! My friend and I were helpless in fits of (trying to be silent) giggles in the back seat as we’d both caught a whiff and spent the rest of the journey holding our noses!

There was another guy some years later who was seriously gorgeous!!! (and he knew it) However, after a few dates, one night when things were getting pretty eh hem – shall we say – intimate, he walked naked into the room I was in and, in the darkness, managed to bang his head on the door frame! I laughed so hard – I couldn’t help myself! Oops! Apparently it really hurt! He wasn’t very happy with my reaction. But I couldn’t stop laughing cos all I could see was a rather graphic silhouette in the doorway clutching his head. Things didn’t last too long after that…

There have been some good experiences too though ☺

Going back just a few years, I was single and so was my best friend Annie so we decided to go out, um, looking around (if you see what I mean) She fancied a cocktail so, off we went to a nearby place and outside there was a guy who I later found out was called Michael (I won’t tell you the comments Annie and I made when we saw him, it’s far too naughty for here!) Anyhow I fell for him on the spot.

Having sat on a table right by him (and eaves-dropped on all his conversations) Annie decided to go to the loo which meant going past Michael’s table…and right past Michael. However, on her way, her big handbag knocked his pint all over the table and on to his lap! Poor guy! But he was really sweet about it. And then – AND THEN - she proceeded to say, without thinking, (and it’s not the sort of thing she’d say)

‘I think my friend would rather like to lick that off you’ !!!!!

Oh my god! Seriously?? Cheers mate!! But, hey, it worked, so who am I to complain? That was the start of a beautiful friendship. After that Michael and I kept bumping into each other on the way to the loo and in the end he plucked up the courage to come over and ask me out on a date.

That was seven years ago and we haven’t looked back. Thankfully, I won’t have to do any dating anytime soon I’m not so sure I’m cut out for it!

Peanuts and Eggcups

For Maggie Parsons there’s only ever been one man: the stunningly delicious Luke Henderson.

Unfortunately, he left her, without explanation, after their ‘first night’ together …breaking her heart

in the process.

 

Now ten years on, without any contact, he’s back and going to her school reunion. Great! And, to

confuse matters…so is his suave, sexy, brother Tony who makes a major play for Maggie, then

turns up with his insufferable - supposedly ex – fiancée!

 

Via the reunion, a black eye, getting the sack (as a result) a madcap girlie holiday and juggling

her confused emotions around the two alluring brothers…Maggie starts to build a picture of what

she really wants in life.

 

Trouble is, Maggie’s a pawn in a game she doesn’t even know she’s playing …and things are

about to get a whole lot more complicated.

 

Available from Amazon UK

 

 

About Sara Mendes da Costa

 

Sara Mendes da Costa is the voice of the BT Speaking Clock; the fourth person to hold this

prestigious title since 1936.

 

A successful, world-renowned voiceover artist, her dulcet tones are easily recognisable on television,

radio, film and across countless media.

 

Never far from the press, she’s known for her appearances on BBC Breakfast, ITV This Morning,

Children in Need, Wake up to Wogan and The Today Programme, and balances her prolific voiceover career with her passion and commitment as a novelist.

 

Peanuts & Eggcups, her debut novel - hotly anticipated by the industry - is “The perfect & highly

addictive reading companion for women’s fiction fans”.

 

A lover of laughter, creativity, great storytelling and a wee dram, Sara adores writing novels and seeks to entertain, uplift and inspire.
 

Her upcoming novels: Time & Time Again & Maggie Ever After, are expected in 2017.

 

Visit: www.saramendesdacosta.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speakingclock.saramendesdacosta

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTSpeakingClock

The Museum of You - Carys Bray

Last week Carys Bray visited Books with Bunny as part of her blog tour for The Museum of You and told us about one of her own favourite museums.  I'm very fortunate to have a second date on the blog tour too, which gives me an opportunity to talk about this wonderful book!

The blurb says -

Clover Quinn was a surprise. She used to imagine she was the good kind, now she’s not sure. She’d like to ask Dad about it, but growing up in the saddest chapter of someone else’s story is difficult. She tries not to skate on the thin ice of his memories.

Darren has done his best. He's studied his daughter like a seismologist on the lookout for waves and surrounded her with everything she might want - everything he can think of, at least - to be happy.

What Clover wants is answers. This summer, she thinks she can find them in the second bedroom, which is full of her mother's belongings. Volume isn't important, what she is looking for is essence; the undiluted bits: a collection of things that will tell the full story of her mother, her father and who she is going to be.

But what you find depends on what you're searching for.

My Thoughts

 

I've not read anything by Carys Bray before, but The Museum of You was an absolute treat.  The exquisite writing immediately draws you into Clover and Darren's world, the evocative descriptions pulling you in and the observational humour gave me many a wry smile - you'll see flashes of people you know in the quirky cast of characters.  The writing is absolutely beautiful - think of Seamus Heaney's talent for conveying the senses and you'll be along the right lines - and although the pace is slow that added to rather than detracted from this book's charm.

 

The plot itself follows Clover's desire to find out more about her mother through the belongings her dad has shut away in the spare room.  Taking it upon herself to be the curator of the 'museum', studying anything which may give her a glimmer of insight into the woman her mother was, Clover digs up the past.  It is a heart-achingly touching subject matter which Bray conveys perfectly through gorgeous, glorious glimpses into Clover's life and thoughts.  As someone who lost a parent at a young age, I certainly related to the way Clover felt a need to connect with her mum and that she didn't know how to do it other than through the items stored in the bedroom.  Although I loved Clover, without Darren's contrasting view this book wouldn't have worked as well.  The juxtaposition of daughter/father, younger/older, innocence/knowledge is what made it.

 

The Museum of You would make an excellent reading group read and will appeal to anyone who likes their books uplifting and life-affirming.  Clover Quinn - you gorgeous girl.  You're a character who'll stay with me for a very long time.  And Carys Bray - thank you for writing a book which spoke to me more than you'll ever know.

 

Out now in ebook and hardback, published by Hutchinson.

With thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

 

 

Extract from Danger, Sweetheart by MaryJanice Davidson

I'm delighted to be able to share an extract from MaryJanice Davidson's Danger, Sweetheart on my blog today. 

 

 

 

Natalie Lane watched the rented truck cover the last half mile to Heartbreak and was not impressed. This would be the first of what promised to be weeks of awful days, and not for the first time she wondered why she didn’t give up, give in, and get lost. Follow half the town out of town. Let Sweetheart die.

 

Not even if he stuck a gun in my ear. Because it wasn’t the town, it was never the town, it was always the people. Well. Most of the people. Garrett Hobbes, for example, could fuck right off. The world needed more golf courses like a diabetic needed a glucose drip.

 

The truck passed the last gate and pulled up between the farmhouse and Barn Main. The engine quit and she could see him in the driver’s seat, moving his hands, and was he . . . ? Was he patting the steering wheel? In a well done, mighty steed way? Yes. Yes he was.

 

Self-congratulation must run in that family, she mused. Oh, and look at this. He remembered to kick out the ladder this time. Too bad. She’d  have loved to see him on his ass in the dirt. Again.

 

“It’s you!” he said as he hopped down, having the balls-out nerve to sound excited. Except where did she get off ? Before she knew who he was, she’d have been happy to see him, too. If anything, she was more pissed because she had liked him on short acquaintance. What  if he’d never seen her in her other life? When would she have found out his terrible truth? Their first date? Their first month–aversary? Their wedding night?

 

Wedding night? Jeez, Natalie, get a grip.

 

“Hello again.” He stuck out his hand, which she definitely didn’t notice was large and looked strong, especially in contrast to her own teeny paws. Nor did she notice he had big hands and, as a glance at his shoes told her, big feet, and she definitely didn’t form a theory about his dick based solely on his sizeable mitts. She also didn’t notice how his smile took years from his face, or how his pricey clothes beautifully set off those long legs and wide shoulders, that  the color of his crisp button-down shirt was the same color as his dark blue eyes, that his tan slacks

(slacks? Seriously? Slacks?)

fit like they were made for him

(of course they were; guy’s probably got a fleet of tailors stashed somewhere)

and that his swimmer’s shoulders made his waist appreciably narrow in contrast.

 

He was still holding out his hand, and she gave it a brief listless shake, the limp kind with the bare tips of her fingers. “You’re late.”

 

Buy Danger Sweetheart from Amazon UK now

Guest post from Ravinder Randhawa BLOG TOUR

 

A Wicked Old Woman by Ravinder Randhawa

A Wicked Old Woman was my first novel, and like many first novels, it came out as a richly packed, multi-layered cake, full of the shifting glitter of emotions, hopes and feelings, and the turbulent mix of family, cultures and conflicts.

The beauty and pleasure of books is their infinite variety.  Some are about one overarching idea whilst others are like slices of life, but all are infused, filtered and imbued by that strange thing we call imagination. A Wicked Old Woman has several themes but is strongly about women trying to define their lives, about families trying to find their feet in a new country and culture, and about the history and secrets we all carry.

The main character is Kulwant, at a crossroads in her life, who decides to subvert everything and initiates a masquerade, which turns out to be more catalyst than disguise, more dynamic than passive, more transformative than defensive. Sparking fireworks among the diverse people who collide and converge, and who ultimately come together to help a young Asian woman, who’s killed a man...

The recent, tragic events in Paris, Beirut and Bagdad, which make us shiver with horror and sympathy, were perpetrated by people who think violence and bloodshed are justifiable. I was reminded of a section in A Wicked Old Woman, not because it’s about violence, but because it’s about a real group of women who worked for peace, The Greenham Women. In the novel, Ammi, one of the characters, keeps having nightmares about people exploding – meaning people being bombed. The thing about Ammi’s nightmares is they won’t go away until something’s been done about them. So a campaign is launched to do something to support the women at the Greenham Peace Camp, which includes a rather amusing samosa making session. 

The Greenham Women’s Peace Camp, which lasted for 19 years, was one of the longest lasting peace camps in the world, its members enduring great hardship and tough conditions. It was set up to challenge by debate, the storing of 96 Cruise nuclear missiles at Greenham Common. When the women first arrived at the Common they delivered a letter to the base commander, putting forward their demands and said: ‘We fear for the future of all our children and for the future of the living world which is the basis of all life’.

What impresses me most about the Greenham Women is that they only used peaceful means, they challenged by words, by talk, by debate, and they were concerned about the future of the whole world. I think it’s time to start thinking globally, to tell our governments and politicians we want them to start developing peaceful means of resolving conflicts. It’ll be a long, hard and rocky road, but just look at this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners, The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. They don’t have the word Dialogue in their name for nothing.

I’ve been surprised at how many current issues and topics are echoed in A Wicked Old Woman: from young women growing up in different cultures and trying to make sense of it all, to feminism and what that might mean, to the heartbreak of becoming a refugee. As well as the eternal stuff we all have to grapple with: love, loss, and dilemmas.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading A Wicked Old Woman, as much as I loved writing it. 

 

Summary:

Drama. Masquerade. Mischief.

A sharply observed, witty and confident novel. Linguistically playful, entertaining and provoking.

 

In a bustling British city,  Kulwant mischievously masquerades as a much older woman, using her walking stick like a Greek chorus, ‘…stick-leg-shuffle-leg-shuffle…’ encountering new adventures and getting bruised by the jagged edges of her life. There’s the Punjabi punk who rescues her after a carefully calculated fall; Caroline, her gregarious friend from school days, who watched over her dizzy romance with ‘Michael the Archangel’, Maya the myopic who can’t see beyond her broken heart and Rani/Rosalind, who’s just killed a man …

 

Vividly bringing to life a bit of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

 

Information about the book

Title: A Wicked Old Woman

Author: Ravinder Randhawa

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Matador

Format: Paperback & Ebook

Published: October 24^th 2015 (republished)

Goodreads Link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26856759-a-wicked-old-woman

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784624586/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

 

Author Information

 

Ravinder Randhawa is the acclaimed author of the novels Beauty and the Beast (YA), A Wicked Old Woman, The Tiger’s Smile and the short story collection Dynamite. She’s currently working on a trilogy: The Fire-Magician. Ravinder was a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Toynbee Hall, Queen Mary’s University, the University of London, and founded the Asian Women Writer’s Collective.

 

Ravinder was born in India, grew up in leafy Warwickshire, now lives in London and agrees with Samuel Johnson’s saying (though of course, in a gender non-specific way) ‘…if a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.’  Loves good coffee and really good thrillers.

 

Author Links

Website: http://www.ravinderrandhawa.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealRavs

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

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3518698.Ravinder_Randhawa

Tour Schedule

Monday 23^rd November

A Novel Haul

Tuesday 24^th November

Books with Bunny

 

Wednesday 25^th November

Chouett

 

Thursday 26^th November

Kirstyes

 

Friday 27^th November

Live Otherwise

 

Saturday 28^th November

So Many Books, So Little Time

Sunday 29^th November

Big Book Little Book

Jane & Bex Book Blog

 

Monday 30^th November

Have Book Will Read

 

Tuesday 1^st December

Linda’s Book Bag

 

Wednesday 2^nd December

Ali the Dragon Slayer

Reviewed the Book

Thursday 3^rd December

The Review Diaries

 

Friday 4^th December

The Bibliophile & Tea

Poppy Peacock Pens

 

Saturday 5^th December

The Reader’s Corner

BiblioBeth

 

Sunday 6^th December

Tales of Yesterday

Question and Answer with Liz Tipping, author of Five Go Glamping BLOG TOUR *Carina Week*

Today I'm joined by Liz Tipping, author of Five Go Glamping, who has very kindly agreed to answer some questions just for Books with Bunny.

What are your own experiences of camping/glamping?  

I went glamping for the first time this summer and it was such an enjoyable experience. There were five yurts in a paddock, next to a field of dairy cows and the glampsite owners had three lambs who were absolutely beautiful. The sweetest things you ever saw!  In the morning, we had tea and coffee in a covered patio area overlooking the river and the little lambs would wander over to say hello. Inside the yurt was a wood stove and big comfy bed. It was lovely.

But I do love camping too and have been lots of times. The first holiday I went on with husband was a camping trip around Devon and Cornwall, so that’s one of my favourite memories. Our first stop was on a campsite near  Woolacombe in Devon and there was an incredible view. It was amazing to unzip the tent and the first thing I saw was the blue Atlantic sparkling! Lovely!

 

 What five things do you most miss when you're away from home?

Oh my goodness, I miss my bed so much! And my pillows! Whenever I return from a trip I can’t wait to get into my own bed and I say “Ah, bed. Bed, bed, bed. Bed.”

And I miss my sofa too- it’s getting a bit old and battered now, but whenever I think I will buy a new one, I spend the money on holidays instead.

I miss the telly loads as well! Well, perhaps not while I am actually on holiday, but whenever I come back from holidays, I always have a full tivo box and I’m all “Television, I have missed you!” and I get excited about catching up on what I’ve missed and getting back into whatever box set I am watching.

If there’s not a great reception where I am and there’s no wifi, I do tend to get a little bit twitchy. I’m not quite as bad as Fiona in Five Go Glamping, but I do like to know at least  twitter and email are accessible should I need them!

And big mugs! Tiny hotel cups always upset me greatly. In Ireland this January I was in a lovely hotel but it had the smallest teacups so I went to Dunnes and bought myself a big mug- but the first one I picked up from the display had orange juice in it. I’d love to know how it got there!

So bed, telly, sofa, wifi and big mugs!

 

Five go Glamping is set at a music festival- what are your five favourite songs to listen to at the moment?

These are the last five songs I’ve listened to- I have them in mind for the soundtrack for my next book!

Taylor Swift – Style
Jana Kramer – Whiskey
Mother Love Bone – Chloe Dancer
Carly Rae Jepsen- I really like you
Soundgarden - Fell On Black Days

What are your five essentials for camping/glamping?
1. I think sausages are an essential component for any glamping or camping trip because otherwise, what even is the point of going?

2.Cold beers ( ginger or otherwise!) – I made a beer box the last time we went camping. I filled around ten  freezer bags with water and put them in the freezer. When they were frozen,  I put them into a cardboard box with some already chilly beers and they stayed really, really cold for over two days. As the ice in the freezer bags melted, I used the water in the saucepan for cooking and making tea.

3.Warm clothes- even if it is a sweltering day, tents are often chilly at night, so don’t forget to pack a cardigan and socks!

4. Make up remover wipes- whether you are glamping or simply having a glamourous camping experience, you will bump into people on the way to the shower in the morning, so you can’t sleep in your make up the night before even if you do that at home. You don’t want to scare other campers off first thing in the morning because you look an extra from the Walking Dead.

5. And don’t forget the most important thing - a good book!

Finally, what five words would you use to describe your books?
I hope that readers will find them funny, romantic, inspiring, optimistic and heart-warming.

Many thanks for joining me today, Liz!

The Blurb

Glamping Check list
Festival tickets
Double check best Instagram filter
Avoid thinking about work/Connor/five year plan!!
A four day break from her hectic life to relax in the countryside and hang out at a local festival (for free!) is just what Fiona Delaney needs. With her best friends, great tunes and a cool looking hat her Instagram shots are going to look A-Mazing!
Until suddenly glamping starts to feel a lot more like camping and Fiona’s in desperate search of a comfy chair, wi-fi and a chilled glass of wine. But when she finally makes it to the local pub she discovers this trip could be more than just a holiday, it might just change her life forever…  Five Go Glamping is out now, published by Carina.

 

 

Fairytale Beginnings- Holly Martin BLOG TOUR

 

The Blurb

Love is an open door…except when it keeps slamming in your face

Hopeless romantic Milly Rose has had her fair share of heartbreak. Obsessed with all things Disney, she refuses to give up on finding her Prince Charming – he’s out there somewhere, isn’t he?

When Milly is given a job to investigate the origins of a historical building in the village of Clover's Rest, she’s not sure what to expect. What she discovers takes her breath away - a beautiful real life Cinderella castle, complete with turrets, a magnificent drawbridge AND a very handsome owner…Cameron Heartstone.

As Milly and Cameron begin to unearth the secrets of Clover Castle, they can’t ignore the intense chemistry building between them. But they’ve both been hurt badly before. Can they take a big leap of faith and find their own happily-ever-after?

A deliciously enchanting read that will delight fans of Rachael Lucas, Lucy Diamond and Miranda Dickinson or anyone who has ever blubbed at a Disney movie. Who says real life can’t be a fairytale?

The Review

 

I have read and enjoyed some of Holly Martin's previous releases and now, as Fairytale Beginnings makes its way into the world, I'm thrilled to be part of the blog tour.  I do enjoy a full-on escapist read and from the blurb alone I knew this book would fit the bill!

 

The story itself is a feel good romance- Milly, who is scared of getting hurt, and Cameron, who's been taken advantage of, are both quietly vulnerable beings and are surprised when Cupid's arrow strikes.  They fall hard, fast and deep, and with the magical castle setting as a backdrop, Milly feels like a princess in one of the Disney films she so adores. 

 

However, there are obstacles.  Boy, are there obstacles.  The unwelcoming villagers, Cameron's personal assistant Olivia, and Milly's desire to remain fully professional as she surveys the castle all threaten to damp down the fire between them.  And then there's the mysterious past of the building itself- the mishmash of eras and design styles are baffling enough, but the legends attached to Clover Castle are even more confusing. 

 

Surprisingly, the elements of suspense were what grabbed me the most.  Normally it's the romance that wins me over, but although I liked Milly and Cameron there were times I wanted to throttle them!  They were both quite egocentric and it was only when one of them went out on a limb to try and rescue something that was important to the other that I really believed what they shared could be more than lust.

 

Clover Castle was another character in itself, full of intrigue and secrets.  I loved all the passageways and turrets, the dungeons and drawbridge.  It was great fun imagining Cameron's eccentric Uncle Boris running riot as he added feature after feature to build a Disney-esque castle!

 

There were times during the book where I felt things moved on too fast-not so much in terms of Milly and Cameron's relationship, more that there were scenes I'd have liked to have known more about to firmly fix the setting and characters in my mind.  However, because Holly Martin writes in such an open, chatty style (with quite a few swear words thrown in!), Fairytale Beginnings had me turning the pages at breakneck speed. 

 

Witty and silly, romantic and mysterious- if you're after a fun, fresh holiday read, this could be just what you're looking for.  It reminded me a bit of Milly Johnson's It's Raining Men- you need to remember it's fiction, allow yourself to believe in the unknown and get washed away with the magic and humour of the story.  

 

I have a feeling Fairytale Beginnings could be the book that propels Holly Martin from 'bloggers favourite' to 'one to watch'.  And I really hope it is, because it's what she deserves.

 

Fairytale Beginnings is out now, published by Bookouture.  To 'try before you buy', you can read a sample chapter here.

 

With thanks to the publisher who provided me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

 

 

Connect with Holly on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hollymartinauthor

Connect with Holly on Twitter : www.twitter.com/hollymartin00

Holly’s website link is https://hollymartinwriter.wordpress.com