Country Rivals - Zara Stoneley

I'm so excited to host Zara Stoneley on the blog today! She is my guilty pleasure when I need something light hearted and fun to read and I can highly recommend all of her books.

BLOG TOUR - POST FOUR

COUNTRY RIVALS by Zara Stoneley

What were your influences when writing Country Rivals?

I think that writing a book is a bit like making a cake, you need all the right ingredients, then you have to mix them in the right way or they’ll curdle or go flat, and then you need to cook the finished thing just enough so you don’t get a soggy bottom. So, here are the main ingredients that were on my mind when I was writing Country Rivals. So let’s start at the top…

Strong women – I’ve been lucky enough so far in my lifetime to meet some amazing women who’ve inspired me in my life as well as my writing. I know a wonderful lady who runs a horse stud in Cheshire, competition riders who show and event, a flamboyant artist and photographer who runs her own business, and more than one matriarchal figure who runs the country estate (even though other members of the family might think it is their job!). I love all my female characters in Country Rivals, they’re strong, determined and resourceful – but have a terrific sense of humour (essential in the countryside).

Sexy men – where would we be without them? I’ve known more than one Billy in my life – blunt but well-meaning men who will say what they mean, a very sexy farrier, and more than one rather attractive polo player. I have to admit the combination of horses and men does something for me (this could be the fault of Jilly Cooper and Rupert Campbell–Black who came into my life at an impressionable age!).

Funny dogs – I’ve always had a dog, but the one with the most character had to be Darcey, my Jack Russell Terrier. Sadly, we lost her to leukaemia when she was only a few years old but she left a huge impression and was the inspiration for Tilly the terrier. I’ve also had a greedy Labrador (is there any other kind?) who would quite happily have polished off a cricket tea like Lady Elizabeth’s dog did in Country Affairs.

Wilful horses – I’ve had a few, especially one very naughty Welsh cob. Black Gold is a combination of a couple of my naughtier horses, but all the horses in Tippermere are inspired by ones I’ve known or owned.

Dream locations – I love the Cheshire countryside and the villages. The village of Alderley Edge, home to many premier footballers, influenced Kitterly Heath, and the village where I used to keep my horses was the main inspiration forTippermere.

Events – a few years ago there was a fire at a castle, used as a location for events, near to where I live. This was the initial trigger for the plot of ‘Country Rivals’ – what if it happened to Lottie?

Character to love – there is a great sense of community in the villages in Cheshire. 

Everybody attends the village shows, supports their neighbours when things go wrong, and quite a few people like to gather in the local pub and catch up on the gossip. People have time for each other, and this had a massive influence when I was writing the Tippermere series.

Country Rivals

'A great treat for readers…jam-packed with sexy men and horses.' Bestselling author Fiona Walker

Dashing eventer Rory is ready to button up his breeches and settle down. His gorgeous wife, Lottie, wants a bank balance in the black so she can protect the beautiful family estate for future generations.

But with the wedding business at Tipping House going up in flames, and rumours that it was arson not accident, Lottie begins to wonder who she can trust with her future.

Tranquil Tippermere is under siege as movies moguls and insurance investigators invade the countryside, and as events gather pace rescue plans start to look too good to be true, and intentions may not be as honourable as they seem.

As a moody, but definitely marvellous, polo player enters the fray and squares up to the eventing hero of Tippermere, does Lottie stand to lose her husband as well as her home?

You can buy ‘Country Rivals’ from Amazon or visit Zara’s website to see all buy links.

And you can grab the other Tippermere books (all the books can be read independently) here –

‘Stable Mates’   -    ‘Country Affairs’    -     ‘A Very Country Christmas’ (FREE!)

ZARA STONELEY 

Zara was born in a small village in Staffordshire, educated in Cheshire, and went on to study at Liverpool University. After a successful career as an IT consultant, she decided to follow her heart and ran a dog grooming business for several years before becoming a full-time writer.

Her fun, romantic, romps draw on her experiences of village life, and her various love affairs with dogs, cats and horses. These days if she’s not at her laptop, you can usually find her trudging across fields on foot, or sat on the back of a horse.

Zara divides her time between a country cottage in Cheshire and an apartment in Barcelona. Her most recent novels include the popular Stable Mates, Country Affairs and Country Rivals.

Find out more -

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"Dashing eventer Rory is ready to button up his breeches and settle down. His gorgeous wife, Lottie, wants a bank balance in the black so she can protect the beautiful family estate for future generations.

But with the wedding business at Tipping House going up in flames, and rumours that it was arson not accident, Lottie begins to wonder who she can trust with her future.

Tranquil Tippermere is under siege as movies moguls and insurance investigators invade the countryside, and as events gather pace rescue plans start to look too good to be true, and intentions may not be as honourable as they seem.

As a moody, but definitely marvellous, polo player enters the fray and squares up to the eventing hero of Tippermere, does Lottie stand to lose her husband as well as her home?"

What do you do when your guilty pleasure is reading Jilly Cooper novels, but Jilly hasn't written a book for years? Read Zara Stoneley, of course. 

The Tippermere series is a FANTASTIC read, and this, the third instalment is brilliant. Meeting up with Lottie, Rory and Tab is like meeting up with old friends - not a lot changes, and you feel like you're picking up where you left off. This time though, Lottie is fighting off potentially losing the house, losing Rory, dealing with a film crew and all while being put under pressure to start a family. 

There were moments when I laughed out loud, and I also have to confess to a few tears....Zara's characters are so relatable that it's difficult not to get caught up in the events of the their lives. 

Another brilliant Tippermere novel - I really hope it won't be the last. 

Country Rivals is out now and you can get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk

**My thanks to the publisher for my ARC**

Thriller Writing with C.J. Carver

I am so excited today to be able to host an article on thriller writing by C.J. Carver. C.J's latest novel Spare Me The Truth is a cracking fast paced read that will have even the most confident thriller reader hanging on by their fingernails....

Thriller writing and CJ Carver

Creating a thriller that thrills, I like to have a high-concept idea that interests and intrigues me, and in Spare Me The Truth it’s the memory erasing drug which isn’t sci-fi, but all too real.

I like writing the odd scene with an international setting.  Not too many, but enough to give the novel a bit of zest.  In Spare Me The Truth, we nip to Chennai in India for just four brief scenes, but they’re extremely evocative and add a touch of colour to the story.

I also concentrate on ending each scene with a thruster that will make the reader curious about what happens next.  I also like to deprive the reader of something he needs to know – like why Dan Forrester can’t remember certain things – to increase the reader’s attention and keep them turning those pages.

Additional Question for CJ

Question: Which location would you most like visit in the world?

Currently, Iceland is at the top of the list.  Geologically fascinating, but what I’m intrigued by is the Icelandic world of the huldufolk, the hidden people (elves, dwarves & ghosts).  Apparently there’s been an 8-year battle to stop a road being built because it’s believed elves live there and construction workers don’t want to risk any mishaps caused by angry elves upset at having their home destroyed.  Here, we protect newts and bats, but in Iceland its elves and ghosts.

Spare Me The Truth is out now and you can get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk

Tall Oaks - Chris Whitaker

"Everyone has a secret in Tall Oaks . . .

When three-year-old Harry goes missing, the whole of America turns its attention to one small town.

Everyone is eager to help. Everyone is a suspect.

Desperate mother Jess, whose grief is driving her to extreme measures.

Newcomer Jared, with an easy charm and a string of broken hearts in his wake.

Photographer Jerry, who's determined to break away from his controlling mother once and for all.

And, investigating them all, a police chief with a hidden obsession of his own . . .

In Chris Whitaker's brilliant and original debut novel, missing persons, secret identities and dangerous lies abound in a town as idiosyncratic as its inhabitants."

I always know when a book has completely blown me away - as a reader, I want to weep because I've finished it and I will never again get to experience it for the first time, and as a writer, it makes me want to weep because I wish I had written it myself. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS.

I raced through this debut novel, unable to put it down. Set in small-town America and filled with some of the most exciting characters I have seen in fiction for ages, this is a intriguingly twisty story that will net Chris Whitaker a TON of fans. 

The main focus of the story is a missing child, but the townspeople of Tall Oaks all have their own secrets to keep. The author manages to weave these stories tightly together flawlessly, leaving the reader wondering exactly what their secrets are and what really did happen to Harry Monroe, before tying things up in an OH-MY-GOD climax. There are SO MANY wonderful characters that pop up throughout this novel - Manny being my favourite. (Manny is marvellous, so marvellous that I think I could read a book just about Manny BY HIMSELF.) 

Darkly funny, reminiscent of Jamie Kornegay's Soil, this is like Fargo, but better. Bravo, Chris Whitaker, you've made my top ten of the year already. 

Tall Oaks is out in Ebook now, paperback coming September 2016. You can get your copy here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Abigale Hall - Lauren A. Forry

"Amidst the terror of the Second World War, seventeen-year-old Eliza and her troubled little sister Rebecca have had their share of tragedy, losing their mother to the Blitz and their father to suicide. But when they are forced to leave London to work for the mysterious Mr Brownawell at Abigale Hall, they find that the worst is yet to come...There are tales that the ghost of Mr Brownawell's bride-to-be haunts the desolate mansion, and in the village there are shocking rumours of maidservants meeting a terrible fate within its walls. But is it superstition that Eliza should be afraid of or is there something real and deadly lurking in the dark, dusty rooms of Abigale Hall? Yet vicious, cold-hearted housekeeper Mrs Pollard will stop at nothing to keep the mansion's terrible secrets, and she exerts a twisted hold over Rebecca. To save herself and her sister descending into madness, Eliza must wage a desperate battle to escape back to London and uncover the horrifying truth before Abigale Hall claims two more victims."

This is a SERIOUSLY good read - far exceeding my expectations from the blurb. Despite being set during the Second World War there is a deliciously gothic feel to the entire novel. With an air of the creepy ghost story about it, Abigale Hall has a sense of intrigue and mystery running throughout which meant I kept turning the pages long after I should have gone to bed. 
Combine all of this with some excellent characters - Eliza is very likeable, Rebecca is shrouded in mystery exacerbated by her mental illness, and the delightfully wicked Mrs Pollard and a setting that lends itself to the eerie plot line wonderfully, Lauren Forry has created a brilliant debut novel, one that creeped me out, kept me hooked and will have me recommending Abigail Hall to everyone. 

Abigale Hall is out on 29th February and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abigale-Hall-Lauren-Forry

*My thanks to Black & White Publishing for my ARC*

Lindsey Davis - VENI, VIDI, VICI - Characterisation

In a week-long blitz of lovely Linsdey Davis bookish posts, I am hosting an article by Lindsey on characterisation, with an introduction to Marcus Didio Falco....



Marcus Didius Falco was the beloved main character that you started with, and he saw you through many of the books. Flavia Albia took over from Falco – and the new one is the fourth in the series. Was it difficult to say goodbye to Falco as a main character? Why did you make the change? How was Flavia greeted by fans? How is Flavia developing as a character – has her life changed much in the four books so far?

Falco was wonderful and I don’t feel I’ve said goodbye to him. I am now just showing him not through his own, deeply biased, eyes, but as other people see him, specifically his children, Albia and also (in The Spook Who Spoke Again) the strange little lad Postumus. It gives Falco and Helena another dimension. Other old friends are also in the Albia series, 12 years older and grizzlier, and so are well-loved places such as Fountain Court, which Falco owns and is now trying to pass off as a good investment to the future Emperor Trajan.
I made the change to refresh everyone – me, readers, and the characters themselves. (I also had a film company interested, who wanted ‘spin-off’ rights – and I was damn well not going to let them choose what any spin-off would be.)
Fans were at first resistant, which does sadden me because I would have hoped they would trust me by now! However, they seem to have settled down and to their own amazement they like Albia as much as Falco.
As I did with Falco in The Silver Pigs, the first Albia Story, The Ides of April, turned out to occur at what would be a turning point in her personal life; she meets a man who scrubs up rather nicely and who is not in awe of her. We surely know where that is heading (well, I think we do, though readers can be oddly uncertain) By the second book his utter decency becomes apparent, and so on… In the fourth story the sub-plot concerns their wedding (many stories are about marriage but I hadn’t shown an actual wedding since the spectacular debâcle of Lenia and Smaractus in Time to Depart, where the bridal bed ends up on fire) There will be a blip or two at Albia’s wedding, which I shall not give away here, but ultimately as they set up home together (hampered by their hopeless slave Dromo) I am now going to explore the idea of the Roman family business. Albia will be informing yet also helping Tiberius set himself up as a building contractor. They will talk about things together, but he will leave her to it. I want to show that whatever the textbooks say, for most Romans the couple worked together for their own prosperity.

The Graveyard of the Hesperides is out now and you can get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk

**Thanks to the author and publisher**

A Life Discarded: 148 Diaries Found In A Skip - Alexander Masters

"Unique, transgressive and as funny as its subject, A Life Discarded has all the suspense of a murder mystery. Written with his characteristic warmth, respect and humour, Masters asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown and important life left on the scrap heap.

A Life Discarded is a biographical detective story. In 2001, 148 tattered and mould-covered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in Cambridge. Tens of thousands of pages were filled to the edges with urgent handwriting. They were a small part of an intimate, anonymous diary, starting in 1952 and ending half a century later, a few weeks before the books were thrown out. Over five years, the award-winning biographer Alexander Masters uncovers the identity and real history of their author, with an astounding final revelation.

A Life Discarded is a true, shocking, poignant, often hilarious story of an ordinary life. The author of the diaries, known only as ‘I’, is the tragicomic patron saint of everyone who feels their life should have been more successful. Part thrilling detective story, part love story, part social history, A Life Discarded is also an account of two writers’ obsessions: of ‘I’s need to record every second of life and of Masters’ pursuit of this mysterious yet universal diarist."

I enjoyed this book SO MUCH - a weirdly compelling read, it was almost like peeping through a window into someone else's life, watching their thoughts and emotions come to life into front of you. Added to this intimate, intricate story through diary entries, we follow the author on his quest to find the writer of the diaries. I found this emotional, addictive and the ending was just perfect. If you looking for something a little bit different, I highly recommend this. 

A Life Discarded is out on 5th May and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

The Silent Twin - Caroline Mitchell

"Nine-year-old twins Abigail and Olivia vow never to be parted. But when Abigail goes missing from Blackwater Farm, DC Jennifer Knight must find her before it’s too late. 

Twin sister Olivia has been mute since Abigail’s disappearance. But when she whispers in Jennifer’s ear, Jennifer realises it is Abigail’s voice pleading to be found. 

A damp and decaying house set in acres of desolate scrubland, the farm is a place of secrets, old and new – and Jennifer must unravel them all in order to find the lost girl. But could Olivia’s bond with her twin hold the key to finding Abigail? And can Jennifer break through her silence in time to save her sister’s life? "

Blimey. Just when you thought things couldn't get any better in a series, THIS comes along. While I have been a fan of Caroline's paranormal detective series from the word go, this third instalment honestly blew me away. Twisty and turny from the get- go I found myself tangled up in knots as I tried frantically to figure exactly what was going to be the outcome of this intricate web of deceit. Needless to say, nothing I dreamt up came even close to what ACTUALLY happened - and it's so rare now for me to have NO clue at all as to what the twist will be in  a book, that the fact that I was kept in the dark until the very end meant that I was hooked.

Book three sees the return of Jennifer and Will - and several other familiar characters - battling to solve the mystery of a missing child. As ever, Caroline's characters are believable and relatable, even the ones that you don't take a shine to. The writing is clear and crisp and the plot is cleverly woven together to come to a brilliant denouement. 

Whilst I'm sad that we've reached the end of the Jennifer Knight series, I am even more excited by Caroline's Ruby Preston series, which if it's even half as good as this, it's sure to be a cracker.

The Silent Twin is out today and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

**My thanks to Bookouture for my ARC**