Blog Tour ~ The Ludlow Ladies' Society by Ann O'Louglin

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host today's stop on


The Ludlow Ladies' Society Blog Tour

The Ludlow Ladies’ Society by Ann O’Loughlin is published 20th July by Black & White Publishing, price £12.99 

Connie Carter has lost everyone and everything dear to her. Leaving her home in Manhattan, she moves to Wicklow, Ireland hoping to heal her broken heart, and in search of answers: why did her husband plough all their money into the dilapidated Ludlow Hall before he died?

Although Connie initially avoids the villagers, she meets local women Eve and Hetty, who introduce her to the Ludlow Ladies’ Society, a crafts group in need of a permanent home.

Eve Brannigan is also struggling with pain from her past. After her husband’s suicide, it became clear that he had bankrupted them, and her beloved home Ludlow Hall was repossessed. Now, seeing the American Connie living there, the hurt of losing her house is renewed. But as she and Hetty begin stitching memory quilts in order to remember those they’ve lost, can she let go of her past and allow herself some happiness? And can Connie ever recover from the death of her much-loved daughter Molly?

I am delighted to be able to welcome the author, Ann O'Loughlin to the blog today.

Hi Ann, welcome to Jaffareadstoo and thank you for spending time with us today

Without revealing too much, what can you tell us about The Ludlow Ladies’ Society?

This is the story of the enduring friendship among women. It celebrates the resilience of women and how they support and hold each other up through the worst of times. 

Connie Carter has lost everyone and everything dear to her. She comes from America to Ludlow Hall in Wicklow, Ireland desperate to find answers as to why this old mansion existed and yet she knew nothing about it until her husband’s death. Ludlow Hall features large in the life of Rathsorney. Eve lived there until it was repossessed by the bank and later sold on to Connie’s husband. 

When Connie meets up with Eve and Hetty from the village and the members of The Ludlow Ladies’ Society, she finds friendship, understanding and compassion. As they make memory quilts together to remember their loved ones, the secrets of the past tumble out and the women begin to confront a painful past.

Connie Carter finds she did not just inherit a house but a whole group of friends who support and hold each other even through the worst of times. This is a story about the power of female friendship and the strength of the bonds that develop over time. As they stitch the patchwork memory quilts, Connie takes the first tentative steps to stitch her life back together.

I was very taken with the description of Ludlow Hall, did you base the story on a particular place or did you draw purely from your imagination?

When I was young in the west of Ireland we used to play in the fields around our home and often in the ruins of big old house there. I think it was from that time, I have loved big old houses. Ludlow Hall is the house in my imagination, but for me it is very real. I have a picture in my head of the house, every nook and cranny. Someday I hope to come across the house in reality. I like to think if I did, I could knock on the front door, confident the occupants will welcome me and I will be invited in to walk through to the kitchen for a cuppa.

The Ludlow Ladies’ Society is set in Co.Wicklow. How important is location to your writing, and did you visit any the places you describe so vividly in your novel?

I think location is very important and I never like to write about a place if I don’t know it well. I think when you know a place well, you know instinctively which way the bus is coming, which way the car should turn when it goes out the gate and little things like that which are so important. While Ludlow Hall is in a fictional village, it is in Co Wicklow in Ireland. I live in Co Wicklow, I know the way the roads are, the type of shops and cafés there and the type of houses. I think that is so important. A proper sense of place for me is very important.

Your writing is very atmospheric – how do you ‘set the scene’ in your novels and how much research did you need to do in order to bring the story to life?

Thank you! In my mind I am there by her side when Connie is first walking through the village of Rathsorney, I am walking every step with her. The voice pounding in her head is pounding in mine. When she stands to take in Ludlow Hall for the first time, I am there doing the same thing. I think that is how you bring any story to life. When the ladies of The Ludlow Ladies’ Society sit to have a chat and a gossip, I am the ghost in the room if you like, I am writing what I hear and what I see, it is a great privilege.

Whilst you are writing you must live with your characters. Do they ever dictate how the story progresses or do you stick with a writing plan from the beginning and never deviate?

What writing plan? I wish I was one of those writers who had a story board or lots of notes and walls or even the fridge covered with notes, but it is all in my head. The characters shout at me they want the story told in a certain way and I have to oblige.

On a good day, they will keep shouting, getting word count up by nearly 2000 words. On other days, they give up after 1000 words. The characters in my head dictate the pace. One of the saddest things about writing The End is that the voices fade and disappear.

What do you hope readers will take away from your stories?

I hope when readers close any of my books they feel uplifted, also maybe wanting to hear more of the characters, that they enjoyed the time with the characters; and I want them to sigh thinking back on the story and realise while it made them cry in places, there were also a lot of laughs along the way. I trust my readers to know while there is a serious issue running through The Ludlow Ladies' Society like in my other two novels, there is also fun, humour, gossip and a host of characters who I hope the readers love. I want readers to feel they have been touched by the story.

About the Author

A leading journalist in Ireland for nearly thirty years, Ann O’Loughlin has covered all major news events of the last three decades. Ann spent most of her career with independent newspapers where she was Security Correspondent at the height of the Troubles, and was a senior journalist on the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald. She is currently a senior journalist with the Irish Examiner newspaper covering legal issues. Ann has also lived and worked in India. Originally from the west of Ireland she now lives on the east coast in Co. Wicklow with her husband and two children. Her debut novel The Ballroom Café was a bestseller, with over 250,000 copies sold in eBook alone. Her second novel The Judge’s Wife was an Irish bestseller for 5 weeks, and was shortlisted for a Romantic Novel Award in February 2017.

..Here are my thoughts about the story..

I'm always in awe of those beautiful patchwork memory quilts which stitch together so many hopes and dreams, and as the Ludlow ladies come together to stitch memory quilts of their own, so their individual hopes, dreams and frailties are laid bare.

For Connie Carter leaving her home in America and coming to live in rural Ireland is never going to be easy, especially as she is grieving a loss so great she is doubtful she will ever feel whole again. A town resident and former owner of Ludlow Hall, Eve Brannigan is also coping with loss in her own inimitable style and when a tentative friendship develops between these two very different women, the result is a story which is beautifully tender and yet so unbelievably sad in places that it made me want to reach inside the pages and hug both these women close.

At first the ladies of Ludlow are sceptical of Connie's presence in their small town and it's only when Connie opens up the doors of Ludlow Hall as a place where the ladies' group can come together to stitch memory quilts that she begins, very slowly, to be accepted.

This is one of those gentle stories that really gets into the very heart of female friendship. Friendship which is bonded together by shared experiences, not just of happy moments, but also of those jagged pieces of lives which have, sometimes, been fractured beyond repair.

The glorious setting of Ludlow Hall is the place that holds all of the memories together and for Eve and the Ludlow ladies the memories of their shared past threatens to outshine their future, whilst for Connie, her overwhelming sadness, at last, finds a place of refuge and renewal.

Ludlow Hall is that glorious piece of fabric which forms the centrepiece of an amazing story quilt stitched together lovingly by a very talented writer.

My thanks to the author for answering my questions so thoughtfully and also to Sophie at FMcM.co.uk for my review copy of the Ludlow Ladies' Society.

Follow the blog tour on Twitter @annolwriter #LudlowLadiesSociety

Blog Tour ~ The Importance of Being Me by Caroline Grace Cassidy

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting today's stop on 

The Importance of Being Me Blog Tour

What's it all about...

When Courtney’s husband David leaves her for Mar-nee – a local beautician years younger – she’s upset but nowhere near as devastated as she thought she’d be. Their marriage hasn’t been great for a long time. Now that he’s gone, Courtney and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Susan, are left on their own. But Susan is a complete daddy’s girl and likes to spend all her weekends with David and Mar-nee. Susan still thinks David is the greatest father on earth and Courtney has no intention of ruining that illusion for her daughter. To add insult to injury, Susan and Mar-nee have a fantastic relationship, happily snap chatting away their every waking moments.

When Susan decides to spend the whole summer with her dad and Mar-nee, Courtney is devastated. She needs a change, and some time for herself. A run-down cottage in Cornwall looks like the perfect solution. At least for the summer it’s a new location, new people and a project to keep her busy. When she bumps into a client she’s worked with but never actually met, it’s like being hit by a bolt of lightning. . . But can she ever have what she wants most in the world, a whole new relationship.

Black&White
29 June 2017

What did I think about it...

Thirty-something, Courtney is at a crossroads in her life, her daughter prefers to spend time with her father and his new, much younger, wife, leaving Courtney holding desperately onto a life that seems to be shattering into pieces. Making the momentous decision to change her life, Courtney moves to Cornwall in the hope that a new place, with new people ,will encourage her to take back control of her life.

In a way this is an adult coming of age story, which goes to show that we are never too old to start again, to make new friends, or to see new places and reinvent ourselves for a whole new chapter in our lives. The author has captured this time very well, the air of indecision , the upset of finding your husband with a younger wife, and the perceived desertion by a much loved child into a lifestyle over which you have no control. 

The author writes well and imbues a real sense of character so that the people who flit into and out of the story feel genuinely authentic, with real feelings and emotions. True, it must be said, that I liked some characters more than others but that's what so important about good storytelling, that the characters come alive, with all their faults and failings right before your eyes. 

I really enjoyed this story about the value of friendship, it's about finding new challenges but more importantly its about being kind to yourself and recognising that we all need to, at times, realise The Importance of Being Me.

It's definitely one of those stories to lose yourself in over an afternoon in the garden, or tucked away in the window seat of a country house, preferably with cake and tea...

Best Read with...cups of tea and slices of double chocolate biscuit cake..

About the Author...

Caroline Grace-Cassidy is an Irish writer and actress. She trained as an actress at the Gaiety School of Acting before landing her first role as Mary Mull on BAFTA award-winning children’s programme Custer’s Last Stand-Up. Since then she has appeared in various productions for BBC, RTE, TG4 and TV3, alongside a variety of feature films. Turning to full-time writing in 2011, Caroline has published four novels. Caroline is also a founding member of an all-female Film & TV Production Company, for which she has written, produced and directed five short films. Her first feature film script is completed and in development. Caroline is a contributor for Woman’s Way, U Magazine, Irish Country Magazine and has been a regular panellist for the Midday show on TV3 since 2012

Follow on Twitter @CGraceCassidy

My thanks to Lina at Black & White Publishing for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour.

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Blog Tour ~ The Damsel Fly by S J I Holliday

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to host a stop on The Damsel Fly Blog Tour

Banktoun #3

Black&White Publishing
2017

What's it all about ...

Katie Taylor is the perfect student. She’s bright and funny, she has a boyfriend who adores her and there are only a few months left of school before she can swap Banktoun for the bright lights of London. Life gets even better when she has an unexpected win on a scratch card. But then Katie’s luck runs out.

Her tragic death instead becomes the latest in a series of dark mysteries blighting the small town. The new school counsellor Polly McAllister, who has recently returned to Banktoun to make amends in her own personal life, is thrown in at the deep end as the pupils and staff come to terms with Katie’s death. And it’s not long before she uncovers a multitude of murky secrets. Did Katie have enemies? Is her boyfriend really so squeaky clean? And who is her brother’s mysterious friend?

With Banktoun’s insular community inflamed by gossip and a baying mob stirring itself into a frenzy on social media, DS Davie Gray and DC Louise Jennings must work out who really murdered Katie before someone takes matters into their own hands…

The Damselfly is the latest novel from the bestselling author of Black Wood and Willow Walk set in the small Scottish town of Banktoun. Fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and Peter James will love this rivetting psychological crime thriller as DS Davie Gray tries to hold together a community once again rocked by tragedy.

My thoughts about it...

The Damsel Fly triggered my imagination right from the start because those who know me know of my fascination for dragonflies/damselflies, so to have a book with one strategically placed on the cover was, for me, going to be intriguing right from the start. I am pleased to say that in this 3rd book in the Banktoun series of psychological crime thrillers, the author, once again, doesn't disappoint her many fans.

Mentioning that teenager Katie Taylor dies almost at the start of the book is no spoiler, as the blurb tells you so, but what comes after is tightly knitted crime mystery which involves not just Katie's immediate family, but also her relationships with her boyfriend, her school friends and also her teachers, so that her unexplained death sends out deadly ripples of unrest into the wider community of Banktoun.

The mystery at the heart of The Damselfly is current and topical and there are more than enough twists and turns in the story to keep the reader guessing right until the end. I do enjoy trying to second guess a good crime writer but this author always keeps you at arm’s length never letting you get too close until she wants you to know something. 

What I love about this author's writing is her ability to get right into the nitty gritty of the story without ever resorting to superfluous waffle. The characters she creates always feel authentic and could be people you meet in everyday life and of course, it’s always great to see the return of those characters we have met up with in previous stories. The Scottish town of Banktoun, as always, features heavily in the story and there is a welcome whiff of recognition in the people and its hidden places. Those who have read Black Wood and Willow Walk  will find themselves smiling as they recognise subtle references to past events and of course, it's interesting to see how DS Davie Gray will progress in his role as a Detective Sergeant alongside his relationship with DC Louise Jennings.

Such was my need to power through to the end I raced through the book in one sitting  and, as always, I wasn't disappointed either by the story or the way it concluded. All I will say is bring on Book 4...☺

Best Read with...a raspberry zinger and a packet of custard cream biscuits

About the author

My thanks to the author and her publishers for the invitation to be part of this blog tour.

Blog Tour runs 2nd - 17th February so do visit the other stops on the tour and follow on Twitter #TheDamselfly

@bwpublishing  @SJIHolliday

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Blog Tour : Black Wood by S J I Holliday

Jaffa and I are delighted to be part of the Black Wood 2015 Blog Tour

March 2015
Black & White Publishing

About the Author  

S J I Holliday grew up in Haddington, East Lothian. She works as a pharmaceutical statistician, and as a life long book worm has always dreamt of becoming a novelist, She has had several crime and horror short stories published in anthologies ad was short-listed for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham Prize . Her debut novel Black Wood was inspired by a disturbing incident in her childhood.

Susi ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo ~

Tell us more about the novel's background.
The idea was sparked from something that happened to me and a friend when we were 8 or 9 years old. We were playing in the woods one day, when two older boys appeared and started to make things very uncomfortable… one said he had a knife. I don’t know if he did, or he didn’t, but we were terrified. It stuck with me. I always thought: What if they hadn’t just let us escape across the burn…? What if something much, much worse had happened?’ The rest came from my twisted imagination.


What was the most difficult aspect of the writing the story? How did you overcome it?
Finishing the damn thing! I love the ideas stage. I am full of ideas, and whenever one comes (i.e. most days) I email it to myself with some brief notes and store it for later. With Black Wood, I found that the story grew from a simple idea into something much more complex. More and more threads found their way in and I had to try to tie them all together. Just finding the time to sit down for long enough and formulate it all, and get it all onto the page – it was a constant struggle! I overcame it by just keeping on… I had a deadline, and that definitely helped.

Whilst you are writing you must live with your characters. How do you feel about them when the book is finished? Are they what you expected them to be?
Good question! They often don’t come out quite as expected. Jo started off far more snarky than she ended up, and some would say she is still a bloody nightmare. I was a little frustrated by Claire – I wanted her to stand up to Jo and she never did. Davie Gray is my favourite character – he’s the one who came out exactly as I planned him – he’s the kind of guy who would do anything for anyone, he’s easy on the eye but he doesn’t respond to attempts to woo him… he needs to find love. He’s fairly straightforward, compared to a lot of the others. That’s not to say he hasn’t got any secrets of his own…


What do you think makes a good villain?

The perfect villain has got nothing left to lose. I like intelligent villains who keep one step ahead of their pursuers, but I also like the ones who just go for it and damn the consequences.


When do you find the time to write, and do you have a favourite place to do your writing?

It’s tough to find the time. My day job, even though I aim to work part-time, can be demanding. I’ve only got one brain! Sometimes I find it hard to split from the scientific nature of my day job and get into the creative headspace that I need. I like to write with my laptop on a cushion, either on the sofa or in bed. I’m at a desk all day so I like to mix it up. Plays havoc on my back though!


Can you tell us if you have another novel planned?
I hate this question. You know why? Because I have a million other novels planned and I am really struggling with trying to stick to just one. As soon as I write a few words of an idea, ten others pop up. That’s when I’m in full-fire creative mode! I plan to write all of the ideas, eventually. At the moment though, I am attempting another one set in Banktoun. Stay tuned!

Thanks for hosting me, Josie – great questions!

Huge thanks to Susi for giving so generously of her time to answer my questions

Jaffa and I wish you much success with Black Wood and we will follow your career with great interest.

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My thanks to Black&White Publishing for my copy of this book
and to Liz at Liz Loves Books for all her help with this interview.




My thoughts about Black Wood.

The book opens as two young girls play in the woods. A deep sense of menace pervades the scene and it becomes noticeable, very quickly, that danger lurks in the shadows. Twenty-three years later, Claire and Jo have now grown to adulthood. They have remained close friends, but, there is always a sense of something kept hidden. Both girls, now young women, have hidden demons they would rather not challenge but when a familiar face walks into the bookshop where Jo works, dreadful memories are rekindled, and the past, once thought buried, surfaces with devastating consequences.

The story is a well written mystery with just the right amount of menace layering between the hidden clues of the storyline. The main protagonists are realistic and the police procedural element, ably led by police sergeant Davie Gray, is well controlled and nicely focused on the present, but with relevant hints towards the past. The insularity of the Scottish town of Banktoun is presented in a no nonsense kind of way, which I thought worked well, as this is the kind place where everyone knows each other’s business, and yet, there is still room for secrets and lies.

I really enjoyed Black Wood. I thought that the mystery at the heart of the novel was exciting. The twists and turns in the plot were complex and credible and the overall integrity of the ending worked well within the context of the story.

This is a good debut novel and I am sure that this exciting new writer will continue to go from strength to strength.

Amazon UK...

Amazon US



You can find Susi on her website
Follow her on Twitter @SJIHolliday

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