🎄Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Kitty Wilson

It's time to light the fire, twinkle the fairy lights and mull the wine

🎄Come and join us for a Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch🎄

I am delighted to welcome author, Kitty Wilson 

to our Fabulously Festive Brunch today

Merry Christmas, Kitty 🎅

🎄What festive food are you bringing to this Christmas Sunday brunch?

Ooh, I'm going to bring lots of cheeses and maybe a bit of smoked salmon. I love what we call 'picky' food in our house, food you can just pick at and graze on all day so I think this will be my contribution. I may well sneak a few home-made mince pies in, and a boozy berry roulade. Not very brunchy, but it's Christmas so I think we should just eat it all and not let the usual rules apply!

🎄What would you like to drink; we have buck’s fizz, mulled wine, egg nog, gingerbread latte or a cup of spiced tea?

I don't drink a lot of alcohol but have a weakness for Buck's Fizz and absolutely ADORE mulled wine so am going to be happy with either of those. However, my tolerance is pretty low so whilst I may badger you for those two, you might be wiser to give me a cup of spiced tea and hide the rest!

🎄Where shall we eat our festive brunch, around the kitchen table, by the fire in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio?

I love outdoor dining; it always makes me feel as if I'm on holiday but for our special Christmas Brunch I'm thinking it could be a bit brrr so let's keep it informal and eat in the kitchen...that way I can keep my eye on that Mulled Wine.

🎄Shall we have festive music playing in the background? If so will you share with us a favourite piece of music or Christmas carol.

Yes, yes, yes! I love Carols so I would really like to have them playing in the background. O Little Town of Bethlehem is a favourite.

🎄Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for our festive Sunday Brunch today?

I have so many but my latest book, Every Day In December, features a strong Shakespearean thread so I should really say Shakespeare but the truth is I would much rather speak to his wife so can we invite Anne Hathaway instead? Very little is known about her so it would be fascinating to have her insights. Plus, Hamnet was one of my favourite books from the last couple of years and she is a primary character in that so it would be wonderful to quiz her on Maggie O'Farrell's version of her history.

Tinder Press 
2020

🎄Which favourite Christmas book will you bring to Sunday Brunch?

I'm going to bring The Nutcracker because I just love the Christmassyness and the adventure of it all. But we might have to act out the Sugar-Plum Fairy dance and the Mouse King battle. Like I said, probably best to feed me the spiced tea.

🎄Do you have any special Christmas Traditions?

I certainly did have when my children were small and I'm looking to bring them back when I become a grandmother - although maybe not for a few years yet.

One of my favourites was standing outside and sprinkling reindeer food on our lawn which would miraculously coincide with Santa racing past in the night sky, with the sleigh bells ringing so loudly that it was almost as if he was in the garden.

Once everyone was asleep, Santa would leave the children's gifts in their stocking at the end of their beds but every single year without fail he would leave glittery footprints all the way from the fireplace right up the stairs to their rooms. I used to have so much fun with that.

🎄Are you tinsel or glitter?

I am an ex-infant teacher so glitter for me. We would be using it almost every day in the classroom and at home with all the crafts we used to do in the run-up to the day itself. I swear it always used to feel like I had a full month of glitter getting absolutely everywhere.

I'm quite muted and traditional in my decorations, I love all the glitter and sparkle of Christmas but at home it is a much more old-fashioned vibe, I use threaded popcorn instead of tinsel on my tree and have lots of greenery all around the walls and ceiling rather than tinsel.

🎄Are you real tree or artificial?

Real, and I use the same one each year which I then replant and let it grow in the garden throughout the rest of the year. I moved to Bristol a couple of years ago so the one we have currently is quite small but the one I used to have in Cornwall is really very big now.

🎄Are you mince pie or yule log?

I love a mince pie, especially home-made ones so mince pies for me.

🎄Are you Christmas crackers or party poppers?

Christmas Crackers. I just love them. I still get a thrill over the snap of a cracker, although I'm a bad-tempered old shrew when it comes to wearing the crowns. I also love the red fish you get and insist everyone lets me tell their fortunes with it. One year I thought I'd be all grown-up and get super posh ones, but it just wasn't the same. Christmas Day needs the red fish!

🎄After brunch shall we have party games or collapse in front of the television with a huge box of chocolates?

I really like board games and party games like Charades but my family are a little reluctant. They humour me at Christmas and will play one game – they're very strict about this – in the afternoon to keep me happy but that's my lot. So, I'm going to choose party games and grin from ear to ear the whole way through.

🎄What can you tell us about your fabulously festive read that won’t give too much away?

One More Chapter
2021

Ah, I can tell you lots without giving it all away. The book is called Every Day In December and features a heroine, Belle who adores Christmas and a hero, Rory, who does not share the love. Each chapter is a day of the month of December so I have managed to cram it full of so much Christmas. There's Christmas trees and carols, mulled cider and mince pies, Sinterklaas, gifts, Christmas crafts, snow and sledding and a Victorian Christmas at Tyntesfield House – a National Trust property near to me. The book is based in Bristol but with Belle having a job in a Christmas decoration shop in Bath, I've been able to include the Abbey and the Christmas Market as well. I have tried to write a book that fills the reader full of cosy Christmas warmth and have been bowled over by its reception so far. Reviews have been amazing, and some readers have said it will be one they revisit every year.

Kitty where can we find you on Social Media?

Twitter @KittyWilson23

Facebook 

Instagram 

Website 

More about Kitty

Kitty Wilson lives in Bristol and loves the city. She happily spends most of the time welded to her keyboard dreaming up deeply romantic stories that make her giggle as she types. She has a penchant for very loud music, owns more books than one human could possibly read and has an unhealthy obsession with paint charts.

Kitty thanks so much for taking part in Fabulously Festive Sunday Brunch.

Follow us on Twitter @jaffareadstoo #SundayBrunchwithJaffareadstoo

🎅 Christmas Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Louise Marley

On this quiet December Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for a Festive Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

🎅 I'm delighted to welcome author, Louise Marley to our Christmas Sunday Brunch today 🎅

🎅Welcome Louise, what favourite food are you bringing to this Christmas Sunday brunch?

Mince pies! I hope that doesn’t sound boring but I do make them myself—including the mincemeat! They are high in fruit and low in sugar—practically no calories at all! 

🎅Would you like a pot of English breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a celebratory glass of Bucks Fizz?

I would love an Americano, thank you! 

🎅Where shall we eat brunch—around the kitchen table, in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio? 

The patio might be a little cold and possibly wet! How about around the kitchen table? 

🎅Shall we have festive music playing in the background? And if so will you share with us a favourite Christmas song or piece of Christmas music that makes you happy? 

I love Christmas music, which is fortunate because I’ve just spent two years listening to it while I wrote and edited You Make It Feel Like Christmas! I always have music playing while I work and create playlists for each book. 

For a long time my favourite song was All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey but listening to Christmas music for two years forced me to find new tracks! It’s hard to pick just one, so I’ll say When the Snow Falls Down by Amy Stroup, The Christmas Song by The Raveonettes, and You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton. 

🎅Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for Sunday Brunch today? 

I have lots of literary heroes but I don’t want to crowd your kitchen! Could I bring Terry Pratchett and Jilly Cooper, for their sense of humour? And perhaps squeeze in Shirley Jackson? She would have been a fascinating person to meet. I’d have lots of questions! 

🎅Which favourite Christmas book will you bring to Sunday Brunch? 

I love reading Christmas books, particularly romantic comedy and cosy crime. However, my favourite was written by Enid Blyton in 1944 and belonged to my mother. It’s called The Christmas Book and explains all the familiar Christmas traditions. When I was a child I would re-read it every year. 

🎅When you are writing do you still find time to read for pleasure? And is there a book you would like to read but haven’t had time for …yet! 

I read two books a week and still have a huge ‘to be read’ list because I can’t stop buying more! I loved Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and bought the first one in his Book of Dust series, La Belle Sauvage, some time ago. I still haven’t had the chance to read it. Maybe this Christmas! 

Penguin Children's and
David Fickling Books
2017

🎅What’s the oldest book on your book shelf? 

Coincidentally, it’s A Visit from St Nicholas (also known as The Night Before Christmas) by Clement Clarke Moore, published in 1919. 

🎅Where do you find the inspiration for your novels? 

I tend to have several different ideas that all come together like a jigsaw puzzle. In You Make It Feel Like Christmas I wanted to write about Christmas because I love it so much. I wanted a heroine who loved Christmas too—so much so that she has very definite ideas about how Christmas should be celebrated—and that’s where her trouble begins! I also wanted to write about a house—and a family!—that weren’t perfect. And I wanted to explore what—when it comes right down to it—Christmas is really about. 

🎅Have you a favourite place to settle down to write and do you find it easier to write in winter or summer?

I am very lucky in that I have my own study! It is a tiny room, with just about room for my desk and a couple of bookcases. I love it. It doesn’t matter what the season is, it has no effect on my writing. Although if I’m too hot or too cold it can interfere with my thought process. 

🎅When writing to a deadline are you easily distracted and if so how do you bring back focus on your writing? 

My problem is not lack of focus, it’s lack of time! I’m not sure whether I need a Harry Potter style Time Turner or the ability to freeze time completely. If I didn’t have to go to sleep, I’d get so much more done! 

🎅Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs? 

Basically just a pen and paper, but four less tangible things would be: A good imagination (obviously!), patience, a determination to work hard, and an ability to be able to switch off from any distractions—including the Internet! 

🎅What can you tell us about your latest novel or your current work in progress? 

Television presenter Agatha Holly has built her career on telling viewers how to have the perfect Christmas. 'A Holly Jolly Christmas' has been screened every December for twenty years and her entire family are involved, including her daughter Beth—the unwilling star of a thousand memes and gifs. But Beth has finally had enough of public ridicule. All she’s ever wanted is a traditional family Christmas away from the television cameras. If she can’t persuade her family to change, should she consider celebrating Christmas without them? 

🎅Louise, where can we follow you on social media? 🎅

Twitter @LouiseMarley 

Facebook

Instagram

Website

Blog

Amazon UK

Louise,t hank you for taking part in Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo. 

Thank you very much for inviting me! Can I tempt you with another mince pie? I think I’ve made too many… 

🎅Louise's Latest Novel🎅

The only thing preventing Beth’s perfect family Christmas? Her family!

Television presenter Agatha Holly has built her career on telling viewers how to have the perfect Christmas. 'A Holly Jolly Christmas' has been screened every December for twenty years and her entire family are involved, including her daughter Beth—the unwilling star of a thousand memes and gifs. But Beth has finally had enough of public ridicule. All she’s ever wanted is a traditional family Christmas away from the television cameras. If she can’t persuade her family to change, should she consider celebrating Christmas without them? 

🎅More about Louise🎅 

Louise Marley writes murder mysteries and romantic comedies. She is lucky enough to live in a village where there is a famous library and two ruined castles. (Her husband still thinks they moved there by accident). 

Her first published novel was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which was a finalist in Poolbeg's 'Write a Bestseller' competition. She has also written articles for the Irish press and short stories for women's magazines such as Take a Break and My Weekly. Previously, Louise worked as a civilian administrative officer for the police.

 🎅Thank you for taking part in Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo 🎅

🎅Thank you for inviting me!🎅

Follow us on Twitter @jaffareadstoo #SundayBrunchwithJaffareadstoo

🎅 Christmas Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Nancy Revell

 

On this quiet December Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for a Festive Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

🎅 I'm delighted to welcome author, Nancy Revell to our Christmas Sunday Brunch today 🎅

🎅Welcome, Nancy what favourite food are you bringing to this Christmas Sunday brunch? 

Mmm, I think I would have to bring lots of seafood – lobster, smoked salmon and perhaps a few oysters! Crisps and olives too! I could go on….. 

🎅Would you like a pot of English breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a celebratory glass of Bucks Fizz? 

I think I’d have a strong Americano followed by a celebratory glass of Bucks Fizz! But if I had to pick one – then I’d ditch the coffee and go straight for the champs – this is Christmas after all! 

🎅Where shall we eat brunch – around the kitchen table, in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio? 

I’m chuckling to myself thinking of us all out on the patio! We’d get blown away! I live in the north-east of England – just a short walk away from the North Sea – so much as I’d love to be on the patio, we’d have to stay indoors. Definitely dining room – makes it more of an occasion, I think. 

🎅Shall we have festive music playing in the background? And if so will you share with us a favourite Christmas song or piece of Christmas music that makes you happy? 

Oh, definitely music in the background. I love Christmas carols, but I think I’d also like to put on ‘A Holly Dolly Christmas’. I’m a huge Dolly fan all year round – and on this CD she does some great duets with Michael Bublé, Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon and Willie Nelson. 

🎅Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for Sunday Brunch today? 

How about Jackie Collins, Armistead Maupin and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie? I love their books, but I also think they’d be really fun, down-to-earth and interesting company! 

🎅Which favourite Christmas book will you bring to Sunday Brunch? 

It would have to be ‘A Christmas Carol’. 

Oxford World Classics
2006

🎅When you are writing do you still find time to read for pleasure? And is there a book you would like to read but haven’t had time for …yet! 

Yes! And yes again! The next on my TBR pile is Sarah Waters ‘The Paying Guests’. One of my lovely readers sent it to me as a present. 

🎅What’s the oldest book on your bookshelf? 

The Bible. I also have an incredibly old copy of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Kim’ which was gifted to me by an old sub-editor I used to work with. 

🎅Where do you find the inspiration for your novels? 

All around me. Life. People. In particular what motivates people and their psychology. I also get ideas when I do research and will often set a scene around an actual WW2 event. 

🎅Have you a favourite place to settle down to write and do you find it easier to write in winter or summer? 

In my office. It’s the only place I can concentrate and shut off from the world. I don’t think it really matters to me which season. 

🎅When writing to a deadline are you easily distracted and if so how do you bring back focus on your writing? 

No, not at all. I have a schedule and I try my utmost to stick to it. Probably because of my former life as a freelance journalist. 

🎅Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs? 

I suppose you just really need something to write on – whether that’s paper or a screen … everything else is in your head. 

🎅What can you tell us about your latest novel or your current work in progress? 

‘Shipyard Girls Under the Mistletoe’. It’s due out on 31st September 2021. And it’s the eleventh book in the Shipyard Girl series. 

Nancy's Latest Novel

Arrow
October 2020

Sunderland, 1943: As Christmas approaches in the shipyards, everyone is hoping for a little magic…

Helen would love to find the courage to tell the dashing Dr Parker of her true feelings for him. But how can she when he clearly has eyes for someone else?

More than a year has passed since Bel’s wedding to sweetheart Joe. She knows she has much to feel thankful for and yet there is still one burning desire which she cannot ignore.

And as Polly grows with child, she hopes against hope for a safe delivery – and that her husband Tommy can soon return from the front line to meet their new arrival.

There will be storms to weather, but guided by their strength and friendship there is still hope for each of the shipyard girls that their Christmas wishes will come true. 

🎅Nancy, where can we follow you on social media? 🎅

Twitter: @arevellwalton 

Facebook page: Amanda Revell Walton

@arrowpublishing

Amazon UK

More about Nancy Revell

Nancy Revell is the author of the bestselling Shipyard Girls series, a heart-warming saga series set in the north-east of England during World War II. Her books have featured on the Sunday Times bestseller list multiple times, and she is also a former journalist who worked for all the national newspapers, providing them with hard-hitting news stories and in-depth features. Nancy also wrote amazing and inspirational true life stories for just about every woman’s magazine in the country. When she first started writing the Shipyard Girls series, Nancy relocated back to her hometown of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, along with her husband, Paul, and their English bull mastiff, Rosie. They now live just a short walk away from the beautiful award-winning beaches of Roker and Seaburn, within a mile of where the books are set. The subject is particularly close to Nancy’s heart as she comes from a long line of shipbuilders, who were well known in the area.

🎅Nancy, thank you for taking part in Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo 🎅

Thank you for inviting me!

Follow us on Twitter @jaffareadstoo #SundayBrunchwithJaffareadstoo

🎅 Christmas Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ Louise Allen

 

On this quiet December Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for a Festive Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

🎅 I'm delighted to welcome author, Louise Allen to our Christmas Sunday Brunch today 🎅

🎅Merry Christmas, Louise. What favourite food are you bringing to this Christmas Sunday brunch? 

Smoked salmon from our local smokehouse. 

🎅Would you like a pot of English breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a celebratory glass of Bucks Fizz? 

Definitely the Bucks Fizz! I might need a cup of tea afterwards to recover. 

🎅Where shall we eat brunch – around the kitchen table, in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio? 

Around the kitchen table, please –friendly and informal 

Shall we have festive music playing in the background? And if so will you share with us a favourite Christmas song or piece of Christmas music that makes you happy? 

I’m a bit of a grouch about Christmas songs because I feel sorry for staff in shops where they get played over and over again, but Silent Night gets me every time and, for a smile – who can’t resist Jingle Bells? 

🎅Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for Sunday Brunch today? 

The truly wonderful Terry Pratchett and Chaucer for their sense of humour, M.R. James to tell us ghostly tales afterwards and Mary Stewart who would spin wonderful stories of romance and mystery. 

🎅Which favourite Christmas book will you bring to Sunday Brunch?

I would actually bring a puzzle and hope someone knows which book it is, because I’d love to read it again and can’t recall author or title! It is a 12 days of Christmas tale, set in old Amsterdam and the family home gradually becomes overrun with all the gifts the eldest daughter’s true love sends her. 

🎅When you are writing do you still find time to read for pleasure? And is there a book you would like to read but haven’t had time for …yet! 

I read in the morning in bed with a cup of tea and I read at night when I go to bed. What will go to the top of the TBR pile when arrives (due today!) is Scoff: A history of food and class by Pen Vogler. It sounds quite serious, but judging by the reviews, it is actually very entertaining. 

🎅What’s the oldest book on your book shelf? 

Because I write about the late Georgian period I have a lot of original cookery books, London guidebooks and so forth on the shelves. But the oldest is nothing to do with that and I inherited it from my father. It is dated 1676 and it is Natural and Political observations… made upon the Bills of Mortality by John Graunt. Gruesomely interesting! 

🎅Where do you find the inspiration for your novels? 

I honestly have no idea about most of them. C S Forester said that he was convinced that his writer’s brain was like a swamp and things fell in, decayed, sank to the bottom and then occasional bubbles of gas rose to the surface and that was his inspiration. I have a horrible feeling that exactly describes my brain too. Occasionally I can pin it down – reading that women with debts would marry condemned men, which transferred the debt so it would die with them inspired The Marriage Debt and the sight of the fabulous castle in Luxembourg in the first Daniel Craig Bond film eventually led to The Dangerous Mr Ryder – but those are exceptions. 

🎅Have you a favourite place to settle down to write and do you find it easier to write in winter or summer?

 If I have to, I can write anywhere (I once wrote a Christmas novella on the deck of a small boat going down the Brahmaputra River in the heat of an India summer) but I prefer to work at my desk with a view of the back garden and across the fields. I’m a very disciplined writer, so I’ll do the day’s words regardless. When things get difficult it is more likely to be because of an issue with the book rather than the time of year. 

🎅When writing to a deadline are you easily distracted and if so how do you bring back focus on your writing? 

I much prefer working to a deadline – that keeps me focussed. If I don’t have one, or it is right at the beginning of the time available, then I am more likely to be distracted. 

🎅Give us four essential items that a writer absolutely needs? 

Physical objects? A chair that is good for the back; dedicated writing space, however small; a comfortable bed for a good night’s sleep; access to the kettle for endless tea or coffee. 

Intangible things? A support network, whether that’s family, Significant Other or friends; other writers, whether in person or via social media, Zoom etc; the willingness to listen to constructive criticism; the ability to ignore unhelpful or destructive remarks. 

🎅What can you tell us about your latest novel or your current work in progress? 

I have just started work on the fifth in my time travel/Regency/ romantic mystery series, Time Into Time. My 21st century heroine Cassie finds herself back in 1807 again with her lover Luc, the Earl of Radcliffe, and they need to solve the mystery of the murder of a politician while trying to negotiate their own across-rime romance. 

Louise's latest novel

Mills & Boon
26 November 2020

Ross Vincent, Marquis of Cranford, with his scarred face and formidable disposition knows he’s hardly a catch. But he needs a wife to take care of his motherless son. Shy, scholarly Prudence Scott seems ideal: she has no expectation of love or passion. She’ll care for his baby in return for the protection of his name. Yet seeing Prudence on their wedding day tests Ross’s willpower to not take his new wife to bed…

🎅 Louise, where can we follow you on social media? 🎅

Twitter: @LouiseRegency 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/louise.allen.549

Website: www.louiseallenregency.com & https://janeaustenslondon.com

🎅More about Louise🎅

I was born and brought up in Hertfordshire and now live on the North Norfolk coast with my husband and a garden full of bossy wildlife. I’m the author of over seventy books – historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon, indie-published time travel romance mysteries and historical non-fiction. Virtually all my books are set in the ‘long Regency’ and I’m a keen collector of original fashion plates of the period and anything to do with the history of London.

 🎅Thank you for taking part in Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo 🎅

Thank you for inviting me!

Follow us on Twitter @jaffareadstoo #SundayBrunchwithJaffareadstoo