Blog
Introduction
Welcome to my exciting new Blog. Please come back for more soon…
A Burning Lie – Claire Sheldon
Fellow Ruby Fiction author, Claire Sheldon has written the third in her series in The Lisa Carter Files, A Burning Lie. Set in her home town of Nottingham, it follows Jen Garner and her return to street level policing. Q - tell us about the book A Burning Lie...
Meet Me on the Buddy Bench – Hannah Pearl
Tell us about the book Meet me on the Buddy Bench is the story of Sam and Ava. They’ve both had a really tough time and it’s all about how they have to rebuild their lives. It’s not how they expected life to look for either of them, but it’s all about how they can...
Carrie Elks on being a hybrid author
Essex-based author, Carrie Elks was scouted by a literary agent after she wrote Twilight fan fiction, which led to her very first book being published in Brazil She is now a very successful hybrid author, meaning some of her books are traditionally published and some...
Seven little tips to help you put pen to paper (or hand to keyboard)
It took me quite a few years to actually get my first book published. The House That Alice Built won the Choc-Lit Search for a Star competition in 2019, and since then there's been New Beginnings at the Little House in the Sun and Finding Summer Happiness. In June, my...
It’s Only Rock and Roll – Berni Stevens
We all love a bit of rock and roll, so the latest book from the very talented Berni Stevens really hits the mark! I invited her onto the blog to ask a few questions, not only about the book, but also how writing makes her feel. Plus, she shares a few tips for budding...
Queen of the Desert by Marie Laval
Another fabulous Choc Lit and Ruby Fiction author has a new book out. This time it's Marie Laval, who's family connection to North Africa inspired her to write the book. So, I've invited her onto my blog to ask her a few pertinent questions about Queen of the Desert...
Chris and Lizzie’s Marketing Adventures – or how just chatting can be inspiring
When my friend, author Lizzie Chantree and I get together, we always have a rough plan of what we are going to do (i.e. where we are going to meet, drink coffee, and eat), but everything else comes as a result of the way our minds work. We basically go off on rather...
It Started with a Wedding – Kirsty Ferry
Tell us about the new book It’s the fifth book in the Schubert the Cat series. Schubert’s a mystical, magical cat with his very own quirks, and his owner Nessa McCreadie, is getting married. Nessa has asked her twin brother Alfie to organise the wedding – with...
Escape to Little Bluewater Bay by Joanne Boden
I love chatting to other authors, and when it's for their debut with Choc Lit, that's very special. So, welcome Joanne Boden, who's first published novel with Choc Lit is Escape to Little Bluewater Bay! Hello. I would like to thank Chris for inviting me on her...
The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast: Gina Hollands on The Fall and Rise of Ronni Fairweather
I love chatting to people about books. And talking to an author about their latest project is always fun. Fellow Ruby Fiction author, Gina Hollands has a new book out. So, wee caught up on Zoom and she told me what it's about. Click here to listen [playlist...
Write Like There’s No-One Watching (or write because it makes you feel good)
I've just finished writing my fourth novel, and now I have three already published books under my belt - two written in the last two years, and the first written over a much longer period of time - I have taken a step back and asked myself - why do I write? Or why on...
Strictly Christmas Spirit – Helen Buckley
My Spotlight Series is all about fame and love, with characters who are singers, actresses, dancers, sports stars and reality TV performers. The stories can all be read as stand-alones, and you can be sure they’ll have dramatic twists and turns! The Series contains...
Chris and Lizzie’s Book Marketing Adventure – What’s Under Your Nose
When I meet up with my friend and fellow author, Lizzie Chantree we often have an idea of what we want to talk about. What actually happens is that we veer off in all sorts of different directions both verbally and when we are actually physically moving around!...
Christmas of New Beginnings – Kirsty Ferry
Christmas is not far away, and there's a little bit of festive sparkle in the air, plus it's the time of year when some fabulous Christmas reads are published. Kirsty Ferry's new book is called Christmas of New Beginnings and it's a perfect story to get you into the...
Helen Bridgett – Wrong Sort of Girl – Book 2 in the Maxie Reddick Series
I love hearing about the way authors discover their characters and bring them to life. Helen Bridgett's new book, Wrong Sort of Girl, features the crime-solving Professor Maxie Reddick, who's been inspired by elements of a well-known actress and one of Helen's...
Writing the raunchy times – Lucy Keeling
I have been asked how I write romantic and sexy scenes in my books. In all honesty, I'm still stuck in the From Here to Eternity waves lapping on the shore kind of thing, so I thought I'd ask my friend, Lucy Keeling, who has written three funny, contemporary novels...
The road to publication: Anni Rose on Recipe for Mr Perfect
I love hearing how authors started writing and went on to get their books on the shelves. We are all different and the number of ways we got to achieve our ambitions to become published writers are as varied as the number of published writers themselves. That means...
Finding Summer Happiness – spot of gazing at the stars
I do love staring at the sky at night. I have no knowledge of astronomy at all really (although rectifying this is something on the top of my list of things to do, which I haven’t actually done yet…) However, what I can say with complete certainty is that a black sky...
A Villa in Portofino by Evonne Wareham
I'm completely in love with Italy and have definitely put Evonne Wareham's new novel, A Villa in Portifino on my to be read list. So, I thought I'd invite her onto my blog to give a bit of background to the novel. As she says...it's complicated! Many thanks to Chris...
Chris and Lizzie’s Book Marketing Adventures: Trains, Planes and Automobiles – or ‘going with the flow’
I always look forward to meeting up with Lizzie Chantree. We have a lot of fun, talk about books, our ideas, how we write, and all sorts of random stuff! We always start with a plan...a cup of coffee, and if our meeting is in Southend, a full English breakfast in one...
Her Nanny’s Secret by Jan Baynham
My fellow Ruby Fiction author, Jan Baynham has a new novel published this week. Her Nanny's Secret is set in Wales and France, and Jan explains how and why she choses her locations Thank you, Chris, for having me on your blog to talk about my third novel, Her Nanny’s...
Chris and Lizzie’s Book Marketing Adventure: Films – where we take our books on location. Can someone make some films of our books please…?
Lizzie Chantree and I during one of our long, industrious meetings (which is what we call a - breakfast, b - coffee, c breakfast and coffee, d - coffee and cake) discovered that we both love films and we are both rather keen to have our novels adapted for the big...
The Talking to my Friends About Books Podcast: Sue McDonagh and The Art Cafe Series
My new novel, Finding Summer Happiness is set on the Pembrokeshire coastline and reflects my love of the south Wales coast. i was born in Neath in South Wales and have always been entranced by the beaches, coves, cliffs and landscape of that part of the world....
The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast: Gina Hollands
In this episode of The Talking to My Friends About Books Podcast, fellow Choc-Lit and Ruby Fiction author, Gina Hollands chat about her latest novel, Yours Trudy and our shared love of salsa dancing. She explained how she started salsa Listen here:...
Chris and Lizzie’s Book marketing adventure! Or Lizzie and Chris and the Blustery Day…
From Chris: Writing can be very solitary really. Even if you’re sitting in a café working on your latest masterpiece, you’re still alone with your own imagination, because, basically, you have to be to create the world you’re putting on the page. So, its...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Rob Jelly
I'm really enjoying arranging chats with my friends about the books they are reading. And I'm also enjoying listening back to them. I now have a long list of new novels to discover which is growing and growing. In this episode of The Talking to my Friends about Books...
Shh… It’s Our Secret, by Lizzie Chantree
I'm delighted to welcome international best selling author, Lizzie Chantree onto my blog today to celebrate the publication of her new book on May 6th 2021 Over to you Lizzie! Shh… It’s Our Secret, by Lizzie Chantree Thank you for inviting me onto your blog today and...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Lizzie Chantree
I love chatting to my friends about what we've been reading and getting recommendations for new books to try In this edition of the Talking to my friends about Books Podcast, myself and author Lizzie Chantree discuss our love for romantic fiction, Marian Keyes and how...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Claire Sheldon – The Source
Here's another recorded chat with a fellow book lover for Talking to my friends about Books. This time its Ruby Fiction writer, Claire Sheldon, author of Perfect Lie and Silent Child. Unsurprisingly crime and thrillers are at the top of her favourites list, including...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Jodie Halford – Back Home
I am really enjoying finding out what my friends are reading and adding more and more novels to my list of Must Be Reads! This time, my Talking to my friends about Books pal is Jodie Halford, She talks about books and motherhood and rediscovering her reading mojo...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Ella Cook on Terry Pratchett
I've now got a very long list of recommendations of books to read as a result of chatting to my friends about their favourite reads. In this edition of Talking to my friends about Books, Ella Page, author of Beyond Grey explains why Terry Pratchett is so important to...
The Talking to my Friends about Books Podcast: Helen Bridgett on Where the Crawdads Sing
I'm really enjoying my zoom chats with my friends about books, and this time I got to talk to Helen Bridgett, author of Summer at Serenity Bay and One By One about one of her favourite books, which, it turns out, is one of my favourites too - Where the Crawdads Sing...
The Talking to my Friends about Books Podcast: Owen Ward on Tombland
Because I love talking to my friends about books...here's another one. Imagine discovering that one of your ancestors was famous! Host of the Essex By the Sea podcast, Owen Ward chats with me about a book that's based around events involving a distant relative of his,...
The Talking to my Friends About Books Podcast: Victoria Polley – Bridget Jones and Hurrah for chick lit!
I've arranged some Zoom chats with friends recently because I miss talking to them about books. And I decided to record them and am writing down their recommendations and adding them to my list of To Be Reads... Today, Victoria Polley talks about why she loves Bridget...
The Talking to my friends about books Podcast- Oliver Rogers on Inspector Rebus and Anna Karenina
As I love chatting to my friends about the books they've read, I've decided to record some of our discussions and share them with everyone. Today's guest is Oliver Rogers who I worked with at BBC Essex many years ago. He is a big fan of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus...
The Talking to my Friends about Books Podcast: Lisa O’Sullivan – Rivers of London series
I really miss chatting to my friends and during the conversation getting onto the subject of books and what they've read recently. So I have decided to chat to them over Zoom about it and record their recommendations. My friend Lisa O'Sullivan is Talk Sport's Tennis...
The Talking to my friends about Books Podcast: Deborah Stephenson – No 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Like every book lover, I thoroughly enjoy chatting to my friends about what they've been reading and why. And as many of us are reading even more avidly than ever due to the way we are living our lives at the moment, I don't get the chance to do it so much. So I...
Magic in the Air – Cascais and New Beginnings
When I wrote my debut novel, The House That Alice Built, I had no intention of embarking on a sequel. That was until I finally sent the book of to my publishers, with all of the edits done, and realised that I didn't want to say goodbye to Alice just yet. So, I had to...
Evonne Wareham – A Wedding on the Riviera
I love reading novels that make their settings come alive, so I'm really looking forward to Evonne Wareham's new book, A Wedding on the Riviera published on March 22nd. Here she gives as a bit of an insight into what to expect... Thank you for inviting me onto your...
Claire Sheldon’s debut book – Perfect Lie
Claire Sheldon's debut novel, Perfect Lie, is published by Ruby Fiction on e-book on 16th June, so I thought it would be nice to catch up with her so she could tell us about her road to publication and what she has coming up next. Tell us about the book...
Choc Lit Virtual Festival round up
As part of the Choc Lit Virtual Book Festival recently, I recorded a chat with my BBC Essex friend and colleague, Tony Fisher about books, writing, and about finally getting published. You can hear it here:https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks I also asked...
The House That Alice Built photo tour
The House That Alice Built is set in Cascais in Portugal, where I lived many years ago. It made a huge impression on me and some of the locations I use in the book are real, whereas others are a mixture of reality and imagination based on other beautiful places in...
Audrey Bowling – an artist inspired by the landscape
The House That Alice Built is set in Cascais in Portugal, and its pretty streets, gorgeous beaches and beautiful setting inspired me to write the novel. Alice herself rediscovers her creative side when she's there, and finds what she sees and feels enables her...
A Weekend in Marrakech 2011 – last bit. How I ended up on the back of that motorbike
Hammam having been ticked off our list, we wended our way to Djemma El Fna one last time. On our way, a man tried to persuade us into another hammam thus, “Would you like to try a..? oh, you’ve already had one…” That was after he saw our hair.. But we didn’t care....
A Weekend in Marrakech in 2011 – part 5
To Djema El Fna we went, full of tagine and humous and these delicious cheesy things in pastry. To Djema El Fna which is the square of all squares..the place where all the city life gathers and which has myriad different lives; bustling morning, buzzy afternoon, and...
A Weekend In Marrakech in 2011 – part 5 – Djema El Fna
To Djema El Fna we went, full of tagine and humous and these delicious cheesy things in pastry. To Djema El Fna which is the square of all squares..the place where all the city life gathers and which has myriad different lives; bustling morning, buzzy afternoon, and...
A Weekend in Marrakech in 2011 – Part 4
Into the multi-coloured maze of the souk. Tiny, narrow shops overflowing with gold shoes, blue scarves, silver teapots, amber mirrors, leather bags. Carvings and jewels and lanterns, fabrics of silk, dresses of cotton, jasmine and honey and rosemary and thyme...
A Weekend in Marrakech in 2011 – part 3
When I close my eyes and try to remember, all I can see is pink, gold and amber. Deep red rose petals. Cool marble tiles. Hidden spiral staircases. Secret alcoves strewn with luscious bright cushions. Palm trees in the courtyards. Cool blue pools. Tranquilty. ...
A Weekend in Marrakech in 2011 part 2
So, Marrakech… So, I’m on the back of this motorbike, enjoying my Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck experience but in entirely the wrong city. But it couldn’t have happened anywhere other than Marrakech, when you think about it. Because there’s something about it..something...
A weekend in Marrakech in 2011
What Christine Did Next…In Marrakech… Posted on January 15, 2012 by chrispenhall I suppose in retrospect I could have got arrested. But actually, all I could think about as I sped through the medina in Marrakech on the back of that motorbike was that I had finally...