Blog Tour: The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane by Ellen Berry
Today, I am happy to be welcoming Ellen Berry and the blog tour for her new novel, The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane which was released on 7th September 2017.
Growing up in a Yorkshire village, Roxanne Cartwright couldn’t wait to escape and make her place in the world. Now, thirty years later, she’s a fashion editor living a glamorous life of perennial singlehood in London – or so it seems to her sister Della. But when Roxanne finds her career under threat, she feels herself pulled back to the quiet village she’d been so desperate to leave.
As Roxanne reacquaints herself with life on Rosemary Lane, she slowly makes a surprising discovery: the people who live in Burley Bridge are, well, just people – different from the fashion set she’s used to, but kind and even interesting. Michael, a single dad trying to make a go of a small bakery, particularly so. Little by little, cupcake by cupcake, Roxanne and Michael fall into an unexpected friendship.
Could there be a life for Roxanne after all, in the place she’s spent years trying to escape?
I’ve reviewed The Little Bakery on Rosemary Lane below but first, to celebrate the release of her new book, Ellen has written an exclusive short story. Enjoy.
Home Alone (Part 2) by Ellen Berry
The rest of the evening was lovely. The wine helped Jo to relax, and by the time they stepped back into the sleek, modern hotel, she had convinced herself that Hannah hadn’t noticed the missed call on her mobile. Maybe it was out of charge, she thought as they took the lift to their room. She’d try again in the morning, before they left. She was sure everything was okay.
Jo woke early with sunlight streaming in through the window. She felt silly now, being so worried last night. She looked fondly at Tom, who was still asleep, and gently kissed his cheek. As she slipped out of bed and pulled on a soft white robe, she wished their own home was neat and understated like this room. With Hannah’s friends constantly dropping by and strewing their coats and shoes about, their house was perpetually messy. What was Hannah doing now, she wondered? Having a lie in? Or getting stuck into that essay? She called home, then Hannah’s mobile – still no reply – and curled up on the bed beside Tom. “Morning, darling,” he murmured. “Have fun last night?”
“It was lovely,” she said.
“Fancy going to gallery or something after breakfast? Or we could go to the castle…”
“I’d rather head back,” she said.
Tom sat up and frowned at her. “We don’t need to you know. There’s loads to see and it seems a shame to waste the opportunity. I told Han we’d be back later afternoon…”
“Oh, I know,” Jo said, “but I’ve got a bit of a headache after all that wine last night. D’you mind if we just head back?”
“You’re joking,” Tom snapped.
“I’m not, Tom. It’s been lovely coming away with you but I really want to get back.”
Shaking his head, Tom climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom, banging the door behind him. Hearing the shower surge into life, Jo perched on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to be a killjoy, but she was ready to go home now. She showered as Tom dressed, and they were both subdued over breakfast.
“Want to let Hannah know we’re on our way?” Tom asked as they sped down the A1.
“Oh, let’s surprise her,” Jo said, wonder if she might start decluttering that very day. She thought of their beautiful hotel room and decided that it was time to pare things back at home. She smiled, feeling a surge of motivation. Perhaps the night away had done her good after all.
Tom’s mood lightened too, and by the time they arrived at the village, he was humming along to a jazz song on the radio. As he parked in front of their house, he turned and smiled at his wife. “Sorry I was a bit grumpy this morning,” he said. “I just felt as if you didn’t want to spend time with me.”
by 
Book Review: A Christmas Wish by Erin Green
Aria, August 2017
Flora Phillips has an excuse for every disaster in her life; she was abandoned as a new-born on a doorstep one cold autumn night, wrapped in nothing but a towel. Her philosophy is simple: if your mother doesn’t want you – who will?
Now a thirty-year-old, without a boyfriend, a career or home she figures she might as well tackle the biggest question of them all – who is she? So, whilst everyone else enjoys their Christmas Eve traditions, Flora escapes the masses and drives to the village of Pooley to seek a specific doorstep. Her doorstep. But in Pooley she finds more than her life story.
She finds friends, laughter, and perhaps even a love to last a lifetime. Because once you know where you come from, it’s so much easier to know where you’re going.
For those that know me, you know that you won’t hear too much about the actual story from my reviews. If you want those, then there are plenty of other reviewers and other sites that will tell you all you need to know about the story. No, I believe in telling you my thoughts on the style of the writing etc.
I have made it a habit, a joy of life to follow debut authors from the Romantic Novelists Association and it was with great joy that I came across this young lady’s’ first release. Getting published is a very difficult thing to accomplish, believe me, I know, however when you come across a story of this quality you know that all the hard effort that the author has put in is worth it as we, the reader, get to enjoy the fruits of her labour.
by Stationery Spotlight: Chronicle Books
I have some lovely stationery items for this spotlight today.
If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know I have an unhealthy obsession with stationery. I can always justify getting a new notebook despite the fact that there are a pile of new ones waiting at home which are just too nice to ruin. You can never have enough pens and who doesn’t like a pad of post-its?
Chronicle Books provide some of the cutest stationery and were kind enough to send me some items to review. Stationery and books being my favourite kind of post, I happily accepted. I wanted to share these with you. As Christmas coming up, all of these would make fabulous gifts for the writer in your life or a treat for yourself. After all, it is the rule of Christmas shopping that one thing needs to be for yourself.
First up is this fantastic Productivity Journal from Bright Ideas. Put together by Megan Lynn Kott, it has a sturdy blue cover and an exposed spine so it will open flat. I personally love this. Being left-handed, I always find that this is a helpful feature of any notebook.
This journal features a table of contents, numbered pages which are a combination of dotted and lined paper. Plus, it’s very colourful. Using this journal makes me smile.
For anyone who does or is looking into bullet journaling, I feel this would make a great Bullet Journal.
Bright Ideas also have this sticky tab tray. I am a sucker for any kind of post-it and sticky note. Therefore, this tray has become a permanent fixture on my desk.
Like the productivity journal, it’s very colourful. The tray features ten pads of sticky notes and it’s great if you’re writing, editing or if you’re a student.
The sticky notes have writing on them for example, ‘red hot ideas.’
As I use one notebook for my blog, writing and the day job, these are and have been very handy.
by Novel Kicks Writing Room: A Character Bucket List
If your character was told they only had a small amount of time left, what would they do with the time?
The concept of the bucket list is well-known. There will be things you’ve thought about doing whilst you still have time. I have a list.
What would your character have on their bucket list? Travel to the Great Wall of China? Be the star in the circus? Want to travel to the moon?
With no financial or practical restrictions, create a bucket list for the protagonist and antagonist in a work in progress. Are they similar? Do they differ greatly? Write two short stories where each of your character picks something off their list.
by Mick’s Musings: I’m Celebrating…
To those of you who were avidly following my previous blog post…are any of you still around? I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t, it’s been so long since I last wrote one. To you, I offer my humble apologies and even more so to Laura who gave me this opportunity in the first place. Sorry chuck!
So why haven’t I hardly done any posts this year? Have I been alive? Have I done anything? Has anything happened to me? In words as few as possible…YES!!!!
As you may recall from my first post and onwards, I’ve told you about what I’ve been doing so far as my quest to attain publication pertains (please note the use of complicated words!) and a few months, I managed to attain that holy grail. Well, kind of. I’m a born pessimist, so until the actual day, there’s still plenty of time for things to go pear-shaped.
Suffice to say, I’ve now signed my first contract and ‘The Season For Love’ is due to be e-published, on both sides of the Pond no less, around the beginning of December. I still can’t believe it! In fact, I could fill this whole post with exclamation marks, but in the hope that you’ll actually read this, I won’t…but I could! Sorry, couldn’t resist that one.
by Book Club
