Festive Q&A Post 23: Sarah Morgan

Today is the finalé of my Festive Q&A, and I am delighted to welcome the wonderful Sarah Morgan to host the very last Q&A! Sarah has quickly flown up to the top of my must-read lists, and her Snow Crystal trilogy was absolutely brilliant, with the final book Maybe This Christmas being the perfect ending! Thank you to Sarah for taking the time to answer my questions, and I hope you've enjoyed reading these Festive Q&A's as much as I have!

You can buy Maybe This Christmas as a paperback or an eBook now.

Q1. Please tell me about your new festive book!

Thanks for having me here Chloe!
Maybe This Christmas is a friends to lovers story. Medal winning skier and single dad Tyler O’Neil has plenty of female fans, but the only woman who has stayed in his life is his best friend Brenna. Brenna has loved Tyler forever, but she believes his feelings don’t go beyond friendship. When a flurry of snow brings visitors flocking to beautiful Snow Crystal Resort, Brenna is forced to move in with him and suddenly everything changes. It’s a story about friendship, love and family all set against the winter wonderland of Vermont.

Q2. What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?

I think the reality of Christmas for many people is hard work and high stress. The pressures to create a perfect Christmas leaves us running ragged as the big day approaches. Festive stories allow us to sink into a sparkly world that offers all the best parts of Christmas with none of the stress.

Q3. What is it you like about writing Christmas stories?

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. I love crisp winter days, blue skies, the excitement of young children, the scent of the Christmas tree and noisy family gatherings. Christmas stories are an opportunity to fill a book with all the good things about the festive season. I’ve written a Christmas story every year for as long as I can remember. It’s become as much a part of my routine as choosing the tree! I love creating the snowy festive atmosphere we all hope to experience in real life.

Q4. Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

Gathering together with family.

Q5. Favourite Christmas film?

While You Were Sleeping.

Q6. Favourite Christmas song?

Jingle Bell Rock (my kids used to dance to it when they were little and it always makes me smile)

Q7. Favourite Christmas tradition?

Choosing the tree.  We go to the forest and it’s always beautiful.

Q8. What are you hoping to find under the Christmas tree this year?!

I love small thoughtful presents. My sons know I’m addicted to notebooks so I’m hoping to have a new one to add to my collection.

Q9. What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why?

A diamond ring. My husband proposed on Christmas Eve.

Q10. What is up next for you?

I have a new series of three books out next year called Puffin Island. It’s about three close friends, Emily, Brittany and Skylar who are always there for each other in times of trouble. Emily’s story, First Time in Forever, will be out in March, Brittany’s, Some Kind of Wonderful, in the summer and I’m just starting work on Skylar’s story which will be a wintery Christmas book. I’m looking forward to getting into the Christmas mood!

Festive Q&A Post 22: Michele Gorman

Today I am thrilled to welcome the fab Michele Gorman to my blog for her turn at my Festive Q&A! Michele's latest festive offering is The Reluctant Elf, a lovely short story about hosting the perfect Christmas at a little hotel, and was a very enjoyable read! Thank you to Michele for taking the time to answer my questions.

You can buy The Reluctant Elf as an eBook now.

Q1. Please tell me about your new festive book!

Thanks so much for having me on the blog today, Chloe! The Reluctant Elf about an extremely undomestic goddess called Lottie, and her 7-year-old daughter, who find themselves in rural North Wales over Christmas trying to run their Aunt Kate’s B&B. Unfortunately they are Britain’s worst innkeepers. Here’s the book trailer: http://youtu.be/IjOS5PQQLa4

I had so much fun with this book, and was in Northern Wales when I wrote it, tucked away in a cabin in the woods with my husband for a writing week. It wasn’t Christmastime though, so I had to imagine roaring fires, snow and hot chocolate in May!

Q2. What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?

I think they’re like comfort food – soothing and nostalgic – and they give readers a sense of anticipation about the upcoming season. It’s funny, because they include the same topics that we write about during the rest of the year, but somehow setting them at Christmas makes them more special.

Q3. What prompted you to write a Christmas book?

My friend, Talli Roland, began writing them several years ago and said it was fun, so, two years ago, I thought I’d try it. I’d written the sequel to my debut, Single in the City, and hadn’t planned to write a sequel to the sequel :- ) but kept getting emails and messages asking what happened next. I didn’t have time in my writing schedule for an extra novel, so I wondered if I could fulfil two objectives with a Christmas novella instead.

As it turns out, I absolutely Love writing novellas, and now write one every year! The length is really challenging and fun because it requires full character development but doesn’t allow for any extraneous, loose/baggy writing. Plus, it’s not long enough to get to that crisis of confidence point (which most of us get around 30,000 words, where we think the book is terrible and boring). So it’s fun to write the whole way through!

Q4. Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas? 
Doing absolutely nothing. I’m so busy the rest of the year that it’s great to put the laptop away for the week and let the days unfold in such a relaxed way.

Q5. Favourite Christmas film? 
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original, narrated by Burl Ives). It’s not a film but a Christmas TV programme from my childhood in the US.

Q6. Favourite Christmas song? 
The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York

Q7. Favourite Christmas tradition? 
Baking about a million cookies (all family recipes) for everyone I know!

Q8. What are you hoping to find under the christmas tree this year?! 
Actually, I’m hoping to find a new flat around my Christmas tree this year! We’re in the middle of renovations and I’m pulling my hair out – I’m hitting the eggnog early these days :- )

Q9. What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why? 
One year my little sister, who was around eighteen at the time, gave me a Madame Alexander doll for the top of my Christmas tree. Our Aunt Lena had given me these dolls when I was very small, and I treasured them. Mom told me after I opened the present that my sister had found it nearly a year before and put it on “layaway” because she couldn’t afford it. She paid a tiny amount each week so that she could give it to me. It’s one of my most treasured possessions and I burst into tears every year when I put it on top of my tree… oops, sniffling now!

Q10. What is up next for you?
Well, back in March I signed a contract with Avon in the UK so they’ll be publishing my next two novels. The first is coming up quickly (January 15th)! It’s The Curvy Girls Club, a funny, heart-warming story about learning to love yourself. Here’s a happy little video that goes with the book :- ) http://youtu.be/qsNP-ganYno
I’m also writing my next book. The working title is Boyfriends Recycled, about four friends who upcycle their exes through their local boyfriend recycling website (RecycLove), but haven’t bargained on the consequences of the exchanges they make. It’s scheduled to publish in January 2016.
Thanks again, Chloe, for having me on the blog today, and I hope everyone has a fabulously fun and relaxing Christmas full of love and cake, lots of both!

Festive Q&A Post 21: Sue Watson

Another Festive Q&A, and today is the turn of Sue Watson, author of the new festive eBook Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake, one of my favourite Christmas reads of this year! I'm thrilled Sue was able to answer some of my Christmas questions, and thank you very much to Sue for taking the time to answer them.

You can buy Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake as an eBook now!

Q1. Please tell me about your new festive book!

Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas cake is a story about two very different sisters – and what happens when they have to spend a Christmas together. Tamsin is posh, wealthy and doesn’t set the table – she has ‘table-scapes,’ whereas Sam, her younger sister is happy with sprouts and a few crackers!

Q2. What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?

I think it’s nostalgia and aspiration. We all want to love Christmas again like we did as children... the cinnamon scented air, the distant sound of reindeer bells. And as adults we want to create that perfect Christmas for our friends and family – particularly our children. I think good Christmas books are pure indulgence – they take you back to those special Christmases while imagining the one ahead.

Q3. What prompted you to write a Christmas book?

My publisher Bookouture! Actually I’ve wanted to write a Christmas book for a while, but wasn’t sure I could write two books in a year. After writing Love, Lies and Lemon Cake I decided to write a Christmas book and if I didn’t finish it in time then there’s always next year... but I just became so engrossed in the lives of the Angel Sisters and Sam’s perfect little bakery I wrote it very quickly.

Q4. Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

Christmas cake

Q5. Favourite Christmas film?

Miracle on 34th Street

Q6. Favourite Christmas song?

Silent Night (a hymn I know, but it gives me goosebumps, so atmospheric)

Q7. Favourite Christmas tradition?

Eating too much chocolate and wine and feeling sick... it’s not a good Christmas if you don’t feel sick!

Q8. What are you hoping to find under the christmas tree this year?!

A nice bottle of champagne to celebrate the good year it’s been

Q9. What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why?

My kindle Fire – my husband bought it as a surprise and it changed my life. I have read so much more since I got it and I can now surf the web from the comfort of my duvet!

Q10. What is up next for you?

Another 2 book year ahead – a summer book with a little dip in Spanish waters – then a glamorous cake-filled Christmas extravaganza!

Festive Q&A Post 20: Chrissie Manby

Another Festive Q&A for today! Now it is the turn of one of my favourite chick lit authors, Chrissie Manby. Her new book A Proper Family Christmas is the second in a new series starring the Benson family, and I really enjoyed the book! Thank you to Chrissie for answering my questions!

You can buy A Proper Family Christmas as an eBook or a paperback now!

Q1. Please tell me about your new festive book!

A Proper Family Christmas is the second in my series featuring the Benson family.  This time they're back home in Coventry but life is far from boring.  The daughter Jacqui admitted to having given up for adoption in A Proper Family Holiday is suddenly back in the Bensons' lives.  She's grown up to be Annabel Buchanan, a very posh forty-something living in an enormous country house.  She has everything money can buy.  But she can't buy health for her daughter, who needs a kidney transplant.  That's why Annabel has made the decision to track down her birth family at last.

Without giving too much away, I can tell you that it's not a happy reunion.  Ronnie and Annabel in particular take an instant dislike to one another.  But over the course of a few months, the sisters who grew up apart come to learn more about each other.  Does that make them like each other more?  You'll have to read the book.

Q2. What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?

We all love Christmas, don't we?  I think part of the reason we like to read about the season is that it's actually so fleeting.  It's all done and dusted in a couple of days!  Reading festive novels helps to stretch the pleasure out and get us in the mood.  And perhaps give us ideas of how NOT to do Christmas too.

Q3. What prompted you to write a Christmas book?

My first book featuring the Bensons was unashamedly summery - it was set on a package holiday in Lanzarote - but it ended on a cliffhanger of sorts.  I wanted to pick up where I left off, which was in August, and the span of the story took me up to Christmas time. Perfect, since my next publication date was November!

Q4. Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

Seeing my family and enjoying the festivities with them.

Q5. Favourite christmas film?

White Christmas!

Q6. Favourite christmas song?

The Coventry Carol.  Quite apt as the Bensons are from Coventry.

Q7. Favourite christmas tradition?

Dressing the tree with baubles collected over a lifetime.  I love savouring the memories each decoration holds.

Q8. What are you hoping to find under the christmas tree this year?!

I'll sent you my Net-A-Porter wish list!  Failing that, a box of Charbonnel et Walker's Sea-salt caramel truffles never goes amiss.

Q9. What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why?

A typewriter and a guide to learning how to touch-type. Most useful skill I ever picked up. Dad found the second-hand typewriter and refurbished it for me. I used it to write the first story I ever had published.

Q10. What is up next for you?

More fun with the Bensons!  This time they're going on a Caribbean cruise.  Expect more family drama, plenty of mayhem, love, romance and lots more of little Jack.

Festive Q&A Post 19: Lucy Diamond

Today I am pleased to welcome the lovely Lucy Diamond to my blog for her turn at my Festive Q&A! Lucy is one of my favourite authors, and her and her last novel One Night In Italy was one of my favourite books of 2014. She also released a festive novella, Christmas at the Beach Café. Thanks to Lucy for taking the time to answer my questions!

You can buy Christmas at the Beach Café as an eBook now.

1) Please tell me about your new festive eBook!
Christmas Gifts at the Beach Cafe is the third story in my Beach Cafe series (although you don't need to have read the other two first!) The story catches up with Evie and her boyfriend Ed, at their beach cafe in Cornwall. Usually Christmas is Evie's favourite time of year, but unfortunately this one isn't shaping up too well: Ed is away, following some sad family news, while Evie has to stay in Cornwall due to the imminent arrival of her patronising older sister Ruth (currently going through a bitter divorce) and her three children. But all is not lost: there's a lost dog and the village Christmas bake-off in the mix - and one or two wonderful surprises in store too! It's a short story ebook rather than a full-length novel, but hopefully will whet your appetite for the big day.

2) What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?
I absolutely love Christmas stories - there's nothing better than curling up in front of a roaring fire with a plate of mince pies and a great Christmassy story to put you in a festive mood. I think the run-up to Christmas itself can be quite stressful at times - never-ending shopping lists, lots to organise, presents to buy and wrap and send... it can make us all a bit frazzled now and then. Reading a Christmas story takes the edge of a hectic day and makes me feel that yes, everything WILL be all right!

3) What prompted you to write a Christmas book?
I always find finishing a novel kind of bittersweet - while it's great to reach the end (hurrah!) I hate saying goodbye to characters when I've got to know them so well. Christmas Gifts at the Beach Cafe is my second Christmas novella, and (for me) is a perfect way to drop back in on beloved characters and see what they're up to, a year or so later on from my last visit. Just between you and me, I'm hoping there will be at least one more Beach Cafe story, so watch this space...

4) Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
I love packing my children's Christmas stockings last thing on Christmas Eve and then tiptoeing into their bedrooms to lay them on the ends of their beds. There is something so exciting and magical about it, even now they're too old to 'believe' any more. My husband and I put together Christmas stockings for each other too, and I love waking up and getting stuck in! You are NEVER too old to have a Christmas stocking, in my opinion.

5) Favourite christmas film?
No contest - Elf! It makes me laugh so much and is my ultimate feelgood Christmas film.

6) Favourite christmas song?
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by Wizzard. I know it's been around for years and the shops all play it to death but it reminds me of my childhood and still makes me smile. Altogether now: "When the snowman brings the snow..."

7) Favourite christmas tradition?
It's got to be putting up the tree. The smell of pine needles is instantly Christmassy and the whole family helps hang the branches with decorations old and new. The children choose a new decoration each year and we have all the cotton-wool snowmen and cardboard robins they made in playgroup, so the whole thing is a complete mish-mash of styles and colours. It wouldn't win any awards for beauty, that's for sure - but there's a memory and a story with each little bauble and reindeer which makes it really unique and personal to us.

8) What are you hoping to find under the christmas tree this year?!
I am very much hoping to receive Marian Keyes' new book this year... that's if I don't crack and buy it myself before then, of course. Huge temptation!

9) What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why?
This might sound a bit odd but... a piano! One of the pubs nearby was being refurbished and their piano was headed for the skip so my husband hired a van and rescued it. It stank of cigarettes at first, and there were pint-glass marks all along the top - there were even some bits of old crisp wedged between some of the keys (nice!) but we cleaned it up and tuned it, and everyone has loved playing on it ever since. So if you fancy carols around the piano this year, you know where to come.

10) What is up next for you?
2015 is going to be a busy year for me - I have two novels published! The first is out on New Year's Day, and is called The Year of Taking Chances, and then I've got Summer At Shell Cottage coming in June. I've just started thinking about the book after that... I'll keep you posted!

Festive Q&A Post 18: Nic Tatano

Today I am delighted to welcome the lovely Nic Tatano to my blog for his Festive Q&A! Nic has quickly become one of my favourite Harper Impulse authors, and I've read a lot of his books which have been brilliant! His latest book Twitter Girl is sitting on my kindle waiting to be read! My thanks go to Nic for taking the time to answer my questions.

You can buy Twitter Girl as an eBook now.

Q1. You've yet to write a festive book - is it something you'd consider in the future?! 
I actually came up with a title for one last year and the plot has been kicking around in my head. Haven’t started writing it yet, but I will. I might start it when the decorations go up since that will get me in the mood.

Q2. What do you think it is about festive books that readers love so much year after year?
Pretty much everyone has a good Christmas memory, so when you put a happy ending and wrap it in a holiday setting, I think it makes for a special feel good experience. And these days the world needs more of those. Even if you’re feeling down around the holidays, a good Christmas story can pick you up and put things in perspective.

Q3. Quick fire questions! What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
The food! I dig out all my mom’s recipes and go wild in the kitchen. There’s something special about cooking things you only make once a year while listening to Christmas carols and looking at the tree while a fire roars in the fireplace.

Q4. Favourite christmas film?
Gotta go with “A Christmas Story,” a movie about simpler times that reminds us we really don’t need much in the way of material things to be happy. It also reminds me of when one of my classmates in the third grade stupidly stuck his tongue to the railroad track (thankfully one that wasn’t used).

I particularly love Darren McGavin’s character of the foul-mouthed father. Reminds me of my dad, who used more colorful words than “Notafinger!”

Q5. Favourite Christmas song?
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas” by Frank Sinatra. (It should be noted that I drove my parents nuts with “Christmas don’t be late” by Alvin and the Chipmunks.)

Q6. Favourite Christmas tradition?
The Italians have a Christmas Eve dinner called “Feast of the Seven Fishes.” You cook seven different kinds of seafood and it is the best dinner of the year. (Of course the kitchen is an absolute disaster after this.) After dinner you are allowed to open one gift and we generally watch a Christmas movie.

Q7. What are you hoping to find under the Christmas tree this year?!
At my age I really don’t need any more “stuff” so I guess the words “best-seller” next to one of my novels would be nice. The one thing I don’t want to find under the tree is our cat, who seems determined to climb it.

Q8. What's the best Christmas present you've ever been given and why?
When I was eight years old my parents got me a pool table, which was the perfect gift for an only child. You don’t need anyone else to play, so if there weren’t any friends around I had something fun to do. I still play almost every day.

Q9. What is up next for you?
Book two of the paranormal romance series “The Adventures of Jillian Spectre” is due out in January, though as I write this we don’t have a title yet. I’ve currently got two works-in-progress going, one a rom-com and the other a thriller.

Book Review: Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson

"For Tamsin Angel, Christmas is always the biggest and best… chic parties and a little showbiz sparkle are a must. This year though, things aren’t going quite as planned…

With bailiffs suddenly at the door and her husband nowhere to be found, it looks like Christmas just got downsized. Moving into her sister’s one-bedroom flat, she wonders whether things will ever be the same again.

After losing her husband on Christmas Eve, Sam Angel has rebuilt her life around her son Jacob and her new business – The White Angel Bakery. She’s also found herself a very handsome, loving boyfriend, but is struggling to let go of the past.

Thrown together with a sprinkle of Christmas magic, Sam and Tamsin might just learn a little more about each other – and themselves. But when disaster strikes at the bakery, will they be able to save the day in time for Christmas?"


Rating:

Festive Feeling Rating:

I recently read Sue Watson's eBook Love, Lies and Lemon Cake, and I absolutely loved that book. Therefore, when I was offered the chance to review her latest festive offering, I was over the moon and had seriously high expectations for the book. The cover is utterly gorgeous, a bright Christmas red and it just looked like a book I would thoroughly enjoy. Luckily for me, Sue certainly hasn't disappointed and this eBook was one of my favourite Christmas books I have read all year! It's one you should definitely download and read now, here's why!

Christmas hasn't always been a time of happiness for Sam Angel. She lost her husband a few years ago at Christmas, and has been left to bring their son up alone, as well as running The White Angel Bakery by herself. Although she's got a rather nice boyfriend now, Sam is frightened to take it further with him and push away the memory of her late husband. Her sister Tamsin Angel seems to have it all, and Christmas is the perfect time for her to flaunt that. But when everything she holds dear starts to crumble around her, and the idyllic Christmas she had created melts away, Tamsin has to turn to her sister in her hour of need, and to a rather different Christmas altogether...

I have to confess I really warmed to this book right from the beginning. I loved everything about it, but the best thing for me was just how festive it was right the way through! There wasn't just a bit of it that was Christmassy, the whole book was and I absolutely loved that about it. It begins with Tamsin's beautiful mansion, stuffed full of Christmas goodies and sounding rather perfect and posh, so you do have to feel very sorry for her when it all starts going horribly wrong, and there is nothing she can do about it. While Tamsin initially seems a bit of a snob and determined to be miserable once the bad things start happening to her and you find it quite hard to like her, she does thaw out a little bit as the book goes on, and you can see she really loves her sister. There was more to Tamsin than meets the eye however, and as she reveals things about her childhood, you can certainly understand why Tamsin is like she is, and I did feel very sorry for her.

Her sister is Sam, and she was my favourite character in the book. She is a single mum who has been widowed, and she still deeply misses her husband Steve who died in a tragic way at Christmas. It is very sad, but I enjoyed catching up with her and her son, seeing what a success they have made of their lives now, with the bakery going well, and the pair being happy together in their small one-bedroom flat. Sam has to show Tamsin that Christmas isn't all about money and what you have, but the people who you are with and the love for each other, but Tamsin wants to help her sister accept that love is coming for her again and it is okay to move on without forgetting her husband. There's a lot of emotion going on in this book, all wrapped up with the festive feeling and it was just wonderful.

The main stories in this book involve the sisters and their lives, and the bakery plays a large part in that too. Tamsin is determined to help her sister make the business more of a success than it already is, but Sam is feeling dubious that they can pull it off. As a Christmas party looms, it seems like Tamsin has really aimed too high, and I enjoyed reading about how they all worked together to try and pull it off, and the ups and downs that came along the way. There were a few supporting characters in the book, but for me it was really all about the Angel sisters. Sue Watson's writing is really enjoyable in this book, painting a very festive picture vividly in my mind as I was reading, and I was left with a lovely warm feeling as I finished the book. It's an emotional book, full of family, love and Christmas, and I enjoyed the entire thing. Sue Watson is fast becoming one of my must-read authors, and I can't wait to read more from her.