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Monday 20 June 2022

Your list of auto-buy authors

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews was an easy one - I follow a lot of authors on Amazon and there are three in particular that I always buy from when a new one comes up. It's good to know that an author will always be reliably good.

The first is Richard Osman, of "Pointless" fame. I loved The Thursday Murder Club and its sequel, and have the third book on pre-order. He takes what could have been a bland cosy mystery and makes it irresistible.

The second is Anne O'Brien. I love historicals and Anne O'Brien is very good at taking strong women and making them come to life on the page. I used to automatically buy Philippa Gregory too but her recent books have been fictional characters rather than historical ones, so I've bowed out of those.

And finally Kate Andersen Brower, whose books about the US presidency satisfy my need to read up on American history.

And while I'm here, I couldn't resist mentioning that it's release day for my new novella "Hyperventilating".


With her, he can reach the stars – but can she reach his heart?

Amber Blake is fleeing a terrible betrayal in her past by touring with rock band Puppetmaster as a make-up artist with her best friend Elyse. Knowing the band is struggling, she hopes to use her make-up skills to reinvent their image, but when a member of the crew drops out, Amber finds herself asked to contribute in a different way – in the form of heated sexual conversations with hot lead singer Cassian Marsh to put him in top form before every concert.

Despite her past, Amber is unable to resist Cassian’s charm and raw energy, and enjoys knowing she can drive him wild with just her voice – but their increasingly passionate meetings leave her longing for more. Can she move past the betrayal she suffered – and can she convince a man as commitment-phobic as Cassian to break his no-dating rule and let her into his heart?

So who are your auto-buy authors?

Monday 6 June 2022

Design your perfect wedding

 I'm in a fairly unique position with this topic from Long and Short Reviews, because my own wedding was pretty damn perfect in my opinion. So, rather than try to blue-sky it too much, I thought about how I might improve on it with hindsight.

As beautiful as many locations may be, I could never have a wedding somewhere hot, so I would still base it in the UK. I did consider a boutique hotel on the Isle of Wight at the time - The Enchanted Manor - which is decorated like a fairytale, so that would be on the list.

For my dress, I went to The Dark Angel in Sowerby Bridge. The actual dress isn't on the site any more, but frankly anything they sell would work for me. I love the medieval-gothic look. I would also go for a mantilla veil - I didn't bother with one at the time as I didn't think a modern veil would work with the dress, but a mantilla (just covering the hair) would work nicely.

Food? Well, it's my choice, so I'd go with an Asian menu. I love Chinese and Thai food. I would also go with a five-tier fruit cake with a swirl of sugar flowers and plenty of glitter. The one we had was only three tiers and the hotel saved the top tier for us, so the pieces were a bit small.

I would go nuts with the decorations at the venue - violet roses are my favourite, so I 'd have plenty of those. I would also get in ice sculptures and a champagne fountain, although only pink champagne. And for music, I'd hire the Darkness for the first part of the evening and then get in a DJ for later so that everyone could dance.

So what would you have for your perfect wedding?