📖 Blog Tour ~ Sew on the Go by Mary Jane Baxter

 

📖 Thrilled to be part of this blog tour 📖 

Unbound
13 May 2021

My thanks to the publishers and to Random Things Tours for my copy of this book
and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

In 2016, Mary Jane Baxter quit her job at the BBC, rented out her flat and headed for the hills. Her home for the next few months was an upcycled 1986 Bedford Bambi campervan with a top speed of 60mph. She raided skips for vintage wallpaper and scoured second-hand emporiums to source stylish vintage accessories, creating her own travelling craft studio, packed with everything necessary for crafting on the road. She then set off around Europe searching for inspiration, travelling from Belgium right down to the Cinque Terre in Italy then around France and up to Scotland. 

Armed with her trusty hand-cranked Singer, she spent a summer sewing on the go. Like creatives the world over, she decided to see where her travels would lead her and returned with a head full of new projects. Fortunately, there’s no need for you to give up your job, wave goodbye to your family and rent out your house in order to reignite your own creativity; Mary Jane has done all the hard work for you. Sew on the Go is her guide to carving out more creative space in your life.

📖 My thoughts..

What a delightful journey this turned out to be as not only have I travelled around Europe vicariously but I have also learned how to make simple sewing projects, which to a non sewer, like me, is just as fascinating.

Mary Jane Baxter gave up her job at the BBC and after renovating the delightfully named Bedford Bambi Camper van she set off on a journey across some of the more beautiful parts of Europe. Occasionally stopping to visit friends, but mostly exploring on her own, the author travels across light with nothing but herself, Bambi, and her trusty sewing machine for company.

Sew on the Go is a beautifully written travelogue which combines the author's love of travel with her creative skills of turning something unloved into a item with value and purpose. I enjoyed the author's style of writing and felt like I was sitting beside her in Bambi and stepping out alongside her as she explored the open air markets and antique sales in France and Belgium, carefully picking items of bric-a-brac, or vintage linens and lace, in order to upcycle them into something deliciously different. 

With a wonderful sense of direction and a keen eye for spotting those interesting quirks about places you don't find in a conventional travel guide, the book works as an introduction to some beautiful European destinations, however, I think where its absolute strength lies is in the author's passion for making do and mending, something which we, in our throw away society, have forgotten how to do. I enjoyed perusing the sewing projects at the end of each chapter; some, like the patchwork pin cushion, can be made by novices, like me, some need a modicum of skill, some can be sewn by hand, whilst others need a machine but all are explained with easy instructions.

I think what Sew On the Go reiterates is that it is perfectly possible to take the plunge and do something completely out of your comfort zone whilst at the same time grasping the chance to create, with a little bit of imagination, something beautiful, out of that which has been discarded.

About the Author

Mary Jane Baxter used to work as a BBC news correspondent and producer. In 2016, she set off on a crafting adventure across Europe in a mobile studio. She is the author of Chic on a Shoestring and The Modern Girl’s Guide to Hatmaking, and has presented on fashion and craft for the BBC, most notably bartering her sewing skills for board and lodging in a series of films for Newsnight. She lives in London.

Twitter @MaryJaneMakes #SewOnTheGo

@Unbounders @RandomTTours

📖 Blog Tour ~ Pathfinders by Cecil Lewis

 

📖 Thrilled to host a stop on today's blog tour 📖

Imperial War Museum

20 May 2021

#WartimeClassics

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

 and to Random Things Tours for my invitation to be part of the blog tour

In May 2021, IWM publish two more novels in their Wartime Classics series which was launched in September 2019 to great acclaim, bringing the total novels in the series to ten. Each has been brought back into print to enable a new generation of readers to hear stories of those who experienced conflict firsthand.

First published in 1944 and set over the course of one night in 1942, the story follows the fate of six crew members of a Wellington bomber ‘P for Pathfinder’ thrown together by chance from different corners of the world. They each reflect on the paths of their own lives, as they embark on a fateful mission deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. Cecil Lewis’ novel examines the life of every man in turn, rendering a moving account of each as not merely a nameless crew member, but as an individual with a life lived, ‘a life precious to some, or one… these men with dreams and hopes and plans of things to come.” 

Cecil Lewis was a flying instructor for the RAF during the Second World War where he taught hundreds of pilots to fly, including his own son. It was while doing this training that he wrote Pathfinders. Pupils were graded by the time it took them to fly solo – the best became fighters and then bombers. The RAF’s Bomber Command was the only branch of the armed forces that could take direct action against Germany and in 1942 the strategic air offensive changed from precision to area bombing where whole cities were targeted in order to destroy factories as well as the morale of those who worked in them. 

The ‘pathfinders’ of the story were needed because often the bombers could not find the towns and cities they were destined to attack at night, let alone the industrial centres within. The crew used coloured marker flares to guide the bombers to their targets and the crews selected (often from the USA, Canada and NZ as well as Britain) were the best night flying crews who were able to find the target unaided. As a pilot who took part in both World Wars, Cecil Lewis brings his unique experience to bear, shining a light on this vital and sometimes contested aspect of Britain’s Second World War focusing on the sacrifice made by the Allied airmen it depicts. 

IWM Senior Curator, Alan Jeffreys, has written an introduction to each book that provides context and the wider historical background. He says, ‘researching the Wartime Classics has been one of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on in my years at IWM. It’s been very exciting rediscovering these fantastic novels and helping to bring them to the wider readership they so deserve.’

📖 My thoughts...

Stepping back in time with this 1944 edition of Pathfinders reiterates the danger and complexity of airborne manoeuveres and of the sheer bravery of the flying crews who manned the bomber aeroplanes during some of the most dangerous times of WW2.

Pathfinders is the story of the crew members of a Wellington bomber, coded 'P' for Pathfinder, as it embarks on a mission into the heart of Germany on a fateful night in 1942. The very human aspect of this novel serves to remind us that the crew members were, quite simply, ordinary men caught up in exceptional circumstances.

The six crew members on whom the book focuses are all very different personalities, and have different nationalities, but once in the sky they become as one, and embody the bravery and stoicism of team work under enemy bombardment. By allocating a chapter to each of the crew members, namely, the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, wireless operator and front and rear gunners we are given an emotional glimpse into each of their personal lives. Each of the six have a story to tell and their own special reasons for being aboard Pathfinder on that fateful night in 1942.

I think what makes this novel so special is that it is of its time, and talented though modern writers of WW2 fiction are, they did not live through the events of the Second World War, and as we know, that exceptional fighting generation is now lost to us. However, having a character driven novel penned by a man who was himself a fighter ace of WW1, and who then went on to become a RAF flying instructor during WW2, is what gives Pathfinders such a poignant insight into the human aspect of being part of a bomber crew, of the complexities of flying under extremely difficult circumstances, and of the forgotten lives of those who took to the skies to fight for our freedom.

About the Author

Cecil Lewis (1898 - 1997) was a British fighter ace in the First World War and his memoir Sagittarius Rising became a classic of the literature from that war, considered by many to be the definitive account of aerial combat. He was a flying instructor for the RAF during the Second World War where he taught hundreds of pilots to fly, including his own son. After the war he was one of the founding executives of the BBC and enjoyed friendships with many of the creative figures of the day, including George Bernard Shaw, winning an Academy Award for co-writing the 1938 film adaptation of Shaw’s Pygmalion. He had a long and varied career but retained a passion for flying all his life. In 1969 he sailed a boat to Corfu where he spent the remainder of his life, dying two months short of his 99th birthday. He was the last surviving British fighter ace of the First World War.

IWM (Imperial War Museums) tells the story of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the First World War. Our unique collections, made up of the everyday and the exceptional, reveal stories of people, places, ideas and events. Using these, we tell vivid personal stories and create powerful physical experiences across our five museums that reflect the realities of war as both a destructive and creative force. We challenge people to look at conflict from different perspectives, enriching their understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and its impact on people’s lives. IWM’s five branches which attract over 2.5 million visitors each year are IWM London, which will open extensive new Second World War and The Holocaust Galleries in autumn 2021; IWM North, housed in an iconic award-winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind; IWM Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and Britain's best preserved wartime airfield; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; and the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

Pathfinders by Cecil Lewis is published by IWM 

and can be ordered here: at the online IWM shop

Twitter @I-W-M #WartimeClassics

@AngelamaryMar @RandomTTours

📖 Blog Tour ~ Under the Italian Sun by Sue Moorcroft

 

📖 Delighted to host today's blog tour stop 📖

Avon Books
13 May 2021

My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of this book
and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

A warm, sun-baked terrace.

The rustle of verdant green vines.

The sun slowly dipping behind the Umbrian mountains.

And the chink of wine glasses as the first cork of the evening is popped…

Welcome to Italy. A place that holds the answer to Zia-Lucia Costa Chalmers’ many questions. Not least, how she ended up with such a mouthful of a name.

When Zia discovers that her mother wasn’t who she thought she was, she realises the time has come to search out the Italian family she’s never known.

However, as she delves into the secrets of her past, she doesn’t bargain on having to think about her future too. But with local vineyard owner, Piero, living next door, Zia knows she has a serious distraction who may prove difficult to ignore…

This summer, join Zia as she sets out to uncover her past. But can she find the future she’s always dreamed of along the way?

📖 My Thoughts..

Zia-Lucia Costa Chalmers has always been intrigued by her unusual name and with the time now right she is determined to find out as much as she can about her Italian heritage and of the family secrets which have been hidden from her for far too long.

Travelling to Montelibertà in Italy with her best friend Ursula, Zia is nervous about what she will find in this pretty Italian town but Zia is determined to find out the truth about what happened over thirty years ago. Zia does her best to search out the truth and in doing so she discovers far more about herself in the process, especially about what she wants from life.... and love.

Combining an interesting story about complex family secrets with a smattering of romance is what this author does best and I was as much interested in Zia discovering the secrets about her past as I was in her burgeoning relationship with Piero, the local vineyard owner who lives next door.

Stepping into the Italian sunshine with this talented author is like being transported into the warmth and beauty of a summer afternoon with the scent of Cypress all around and the sound of cicadas carried on the warm Umbrian breeze. Beautifully descriptive of time and place, Under the Italian Sun  is every bit as good as I knew it would be as nothing from this author ever disappoints. It's perfect escapism for this difficult time when we are unable to travel very far away from our favourite armchair. It makes a great holiday read and even if we can’t travel too far afield this beautifully written story certainly brings a little bit of much needed sunshine into a grey and unsettled world.

About the Author

Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times bestselling author and has reached the #1 spot on Kindle UK. She’s won the Goldsboro Books Contemporary Romantic Novel Award, Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary. Published by HarperCollins in the UK, US and Canada and by other publishers around the world.

Twitter @suemoorcroft #UnderTheItalianSun

@AvonBooksUK

@rararesources

Facebook

Website

Amazon

📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ A Letter to the Last House before the Sea by Liz Eeles

 

Bookouture
19 May 2021
Heaven's Cove #2

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

High on the clifftops, Lettie takes a deep breath of salty air and opens the letter. There is no signature, and the old-fashioned handwriting is faint against the yellowed paper. The message, and the tiny gold key inside, will turn her life upside down…

Lettie Starcross makes her way along the cobbled streets of Heaven’s Cove, clutching a little key and searching for answers about her kind, twinkly-eyed Great Aunt Iris, whom she misses terribly. With no job back home, and no-one in her family understanding how adrift she feels, Lettie wonders if her aunt was lonely just like her – is that why she fled this pretty seaside village years ago and never returned?

Staying at Driftwood House where Iris lived, now a cosy B&B, Lettie can almost hear Iris’s laughter on the breeze. And when she locks eyes with brooding fisherman Corey as he’s singing a haunting sea shanty in the local tavern, the sparks that fly between them are a welcome distraction from her grief.

But everything changes when Lettie meets Corey’s grandmother. Hearing the name ‘Iris Starcross’, her wrinkled face turns pale. Then she tells Lettie a devastating secret: seventy years ago, a choice Iris made tore apart this tight-knit community.

Heartbroken, Lettie questions if she ever really understood her beloved aunt – and if Corey knew about this shocking rift all along. So when her sister calls begging her to come home, Lettie is torn. If she stays to find what the key unlocks, can she discover the truth about what Iris did – and fight for her own fresh start? Or will she be the next Starcross woman to run from Heaven’s Cove forever?

📖 My thoughts..

When Lettie Starcross arrives in the pretty coastal village of Heaven's Cove she is grieving for the loss of her beloved great-aunt and looking for answers as to why Great-aunt Iris left Heaven's Cove seventy years ago, never to return.

What then follows is  a very welcome return visit back to this little corner of Devon which we were first introduced to in Secrets of the Last House before the Sea. Driftwood House is, once again, very much a character in the story and I enjoyed going back to see what changes Rosie had made in the running of her guest house. 

The secret at the heart of the story has much to offer and as long held resentments and old dramas come to the surface so Lettie starts to have a different view of her great-aunt and the reasons why she left Heaven's Cove all those years ago. Of course, Lettie's search for the truth is not without difficulty but her resilient nature shines through especially in her altercations with the enigmatic, bur rather handsome, Corey. It also opens up emotional flaws in Lettie's personal life and causes her to question her own relationships with her rather needy family.

It's been an absolute pleasure to be back in Heaven's Cove again. The author brings so much warmth and empathy to the stories that it's very easy to get lost in time and imagine yourself walking down the hill from Driftwood House into the village. The characters come alive, I especially enjoyed getting to know the new characters whilst being happy to be reacquainted with some of the more eccentric villagers.

The author writes this gentle drama with a fine eye for detail and a wonderful sense of bringing everything to completion.  Whilst it is perfectly possible to read the story as a standalone, of course. it does help a little if you have visited Heaven's Cove before if only to enjoy meeting up again with a few old friends.

A Letter to the Last House before the Sea is every bit as good as I knew it would be and I hope to be back again soon in Heaven's Cove.

About the Author

Liz Eeles lives on the south coast of England with her family, and writes heart-warming, emotional women's fiction and romantic comedies.

Facebook

Twitter @lizeelesauthor #ALettertotheLastHousebeforetheSea

@Bookouture

📖 Blog Tour ~ Her Family Secret by Melissa Wiesner

  

📖 Delighted to host one of today's Blog Tour stops 📖 

Bookouture

17 May 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of
 the book and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

The father you never knew, has left behind a heartbreaking secret…

June Westwood is devastated by the news the father she never met has died. Now the truth about why Jasper abandoned her as a child will be buried forever. Escaping to the secluded beach house she’s inherited, June hopes to spend time bonding with her two little daughters, away from her hectic job and failing marriage.

On the wild shores of the Pacific Northwest, her father’s hideaway leaves June breathless. But it’s his oil paintings decorating every wall that surprise her most. How could someone paint other people so beautifully, but reject those closest to him? And why is every drawer in her father’s workshop locked? June hopes her new neighbor—her father’s apprentice Caleb—will provide the answers. But Caleb won’t talk about the past.

Then, hidden in her father’s workshop, June discovers a box of newspaper clippings that reveal the shocking reason why her father left years ago—and uncovers Caleb’s own devastating secret…

When her old life comes calling, June has an impossible decision to make. Unsure what’s best for her girls, and if she can trust Caleb, will digging deeper into her father’s dark past heal or destroy her precious family?

📖  My Thoughts..

After hearing the devastating news that the father she has never known has died and has left her, and her sisters, an amazing legacy, June Westwood leaves behind her husband, and taking her two daughters heads for her deceased father's property in Wishing Cove in the Pacific North West.  There she, and her two sisters, discover more about the family secret which has been hidden for so long, and as they learn to accept the reasons why their artist father abandoned them when they were children, so their own personal stories start to evolve.

Whilst Her Family Secret follows what is happening with June, and her tentative relationship with, Caleb Valencia, her father's protégé, we are also entrusted with an emotional roller coaster of a read as the story looks at the complicated bonds which bind people together. The story captures the indecision which June faces, especially as she has to make some momentous changes in her life, which the author writes about with empathy, and a natural awareness of picking up on the subtle nuances of people's complex behaviour.

Beautifully written from start to finish, Her Family Secret is an emotional and thought provoking story about how secrets long buried can have a devastating effect on those who have to pick up the pieces. It also covers a wide range of topics from marital infidelity, mental health issues around bi-polar disorder and the complicated ties of family but does so with a light touch and a fine eye for detail which makes reading Her Family Secret so enjoyable.

About the Author

Melissa Wiesner is a night-owl who began writing novels about five years ago when her early-to-bed family retired for the evening. In 2019, she won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award in the Mainstream Fiction Category for her first novel. Melissa holds two Master’s Degrees in Public Health and Community Agency Counseling. Her day job is in Social Work where she often encounters people knocked down by hard times but who pick themselves up and keep going, just like the characters of her novels. Melissa lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her charming husband and two adorable children.

Twitter @Melissa_Wiesner  #HerFamilySecret

 @bookouture #BooksonTour

Website

Amazon

📖 Book Review ~ The Therapist by B A Paris

 

HQ
15 April 2021

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book

When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…

As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.

Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…

📖 My thoughts..

Alice and Leo seemingly have an idyllic life together as they have recently moved in their dream home in an exclusive gated community. However, whilst some of her neighbours appear friendly enough there are those who seem resentful of Alice and Leo's presence amongst them and with Leo often away on business, Alice is lonely and keen to make friends amongst those who live close to her.

I always enjoy enormously the way the author keeps the tension cranked up to high in her novels which are all just a little bit different. Throughout The Therapist, and particularly when Alice makes a devastating discovery about her beautiful new home there is a decided air of menace, especially when unexpected things start to occur and Alice finds out just what deadly secrets her beautiful home is hiding. As always with this clever author's writing there are twists and turns aplenty and with so much going on with the plot to say too much would be to spoil the overall effect of the novel. 

I've now read everything that this talented author has written and I think that her stories just get better and better. What is always guaranteed is a beautifully controlled psychological suspense/thriller, complete with a set of complex characters who you immediately either feel an affinity for, or who make your skin creep, but which have the uncanny ability to make you question everything on the page, and when all is finally revealed there's a definite sense of having read another cracking good story.

About the Author

B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back and The Dilemma. Having sold over a million copies in the UK alone, she is a New York Times bestseller as well as a Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into 40 languages. Having lived in France for many years, she and her husband recently moved back to the UK.

Twitter @BAParisAuthor #TheTherapist

@HQStories

🍴Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo ~ C J Carver

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

🍴I am so pleased to welcome C J Carver to Sunday Brunch🍴

🍴Welcome C J ! What favourite food are you bringing to Sunday brunch?

Avocado. I adore avocados, anywhere, anytime, but it was in Australia where I was first introduced to avocado on sourdough toast with a poached egg on top. Because this is an uber-special brunch, I’ve added a curl of smoked salmon and a drizzle of Portugese olive oil.

 

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

Ooooh, what a choice, I love them all! However, I think a really good strong Americano will do the trick. Lovely!

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

I’ve put a jug of flowers on the table outside in readiness – it is spring, after all. However, if it suddenly pours with rain, we can leg it into the kitchen.

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

I always have music playing, especially when I’m writing - apparently background music helps productivity as well as keeping you alert.

For our brunch, however, I’m going for Pink Martini, who cross several styles: classical, latin and jazz. Nothing too headbanging our we’ll scare away the blue tits that are nesting close by. If we play Una Notte a Napoli, we can pretend we’re brunching on a palazzo in Napoli.

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

Lee Child. Not only is he terrific company but he is an extremely nice man. Oh, and he happens to write some of the best thrillers around! Lee will help oil the conversation with my other guest, Jack Reacher, who’s a bit on the taciturn side.

🍴Which favourite book will you bring to Sunday Brunch?

I’m bringing a book that everyone can enjoy, no matter how old they are or where they’re from: Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 30. All 100 images are spectacular, but my favourite is a stunning photograph of a Siberian tigress embracing an ancient Manchurian fir to leave secretions from her scent glands.

There are photographs of beetles and ants, sharks and goats, bears, ocelots. Every image takes the breath away.

🍴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 tend to read for research when I’m writing, but I admit I have a couple of books for relaxation by my bedside. Not that I get through more than a couple of pages before I fall asleep!

The book that I can’t wait to get stuck into is Black Sun by Owen Matthews, a Soviet Russia thriller based on a true story. It will have to wait, though, until I can read it uninterrupted so I can get maximum reading pleasure… on holiday, no doubt.

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

A first edition of White Fang by Jack London, 1907. It even has the original tissue paper over the first plate of White Fang howling “as dogs howl, when their masters lie dead.”

This book belonged to my great grandfather, and was passed through the family until it happily came to me. It was one of my favourite books when I was a kid, and thinking about it now, I’m sure it had an effect on my subconscious because when I grew up, I couldn’t wait to get to Alaska.

🍴Where do you find the inspiration for your novels?

Everywhere and anywhere! The starting point for Scare Me To Death was when I experienced a particularly unnerving commercial flight with three aborted landings followed by a final, emergency landing at another airfield.

It made me think about what I’d do not so much if we crashed, but what my reaction would be if I discovered the aeroplane had been sabotaged. From there, the story began to unfold.

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

I’m lucky to have a spare bedroom which I’ve converted into my office. It’s easier to write in winter because I’m not longing to be outside on a glorious spring or summer day. I’m very much of the mind to enjoy good weather while I can, and write like a demon when it’s chucking down.

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

With a deadline, I am never distracted. I can’t afford to be! It doesn’t matter what the weather’s like, for example, I just get my head down until it’s done.

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

Imagination. Perseverance. Determination. A sense of humour. Oh, and you have to love the story you’re writing (sorry, that’s five). I had a manuscript I was really struggling with and as soon as I recognised the story wasn’t working for me, I ditched it and started another. I’m genuinely loving the book I’m writing and can’t wait to re-engage each morning.

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

Like a lot of novels, Scare Me to Death has many elements of the truth, not just from the investigative policing side of things, but stories I’ve plucked from newspapers around the world. In my experience, truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Bloodhound Books
9 April 2021

The best thing about this book for me, however, was seeing my character DC Lucy Davies reunited with her father, who she believed abandoned her when she was eight. When she learns this was a lie, she is forced to uncover the secrets he’s been holding all this time.

Naturally, they’re not ordinary secrets but deep and dangerous ones that lead her to confront a vicious murderer with only one thing on their mind: to keep on killing to stop the truth from getting revealed.

Where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter: @C_J_Carver

Facebook page: @CJCarverBooks

Website

More about C J Carver

I was lucky enough to win the CWA Debut Dagger for my first novel Blood Junction, which was also shortlisted for the Barry Award. Since then, I’ve written a further fifteen novels, including Spare Me the Truth which was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award.

I began my writing career as a travel writer. I’m also an international rally driver (I drove London to Saigon and London to Cape Town) which means I can write a pretty authentic car chase! Being half a Kiwi, I used to live in Australia, but now I live just outside Bath.

Thank you for taking part in Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo.

Thank you! J It’s been great fun. Happy Sunday everyone!

Follow us on Twitter @jaffreadstoo #SundayBrunchwith Jaffareadstoo