It’s Friday again and this week I’m excited to be joined by Zara Stonely!!!
Loving Lottie
When I first started to plan out the Tippermere series, it started with Lottie. She’s the type of girl I’d love to have as a friend – warm-hearted, generous, slightly disorganized, thoughtful and good fun to be around. Because of her impulsive nature, you never quite know what’s going to happen next though.
In each book in the series, Lottie has grown stronger, more confident and proved herself capable of handling the problems that life has thrown at her. At the start of ‘Stable Mates’ she was fairly carefree, but trying to work out where she belonged, who she really was – and I’m sure a lot of us have been there, and know what it’s like. Did she find the answers? Well, she did and they weren’t what she expected!
As she moved on in ‘Country Affairs’ I threw a massive challenge at her (authors can be mean like that!) and it really was time for her to grow up and take on more responsibility. The lovely thing, for me, about this story was that all the goodwill she’d offered out came flooding back as her friends and family supported her – but at the end of the day it was Lottie who made things happen.
As Shona from Booky Ramblings of a Neurotic Mum says in her wonderful review –
‘The Lottie in this book is very different from the Lottie we met in Stable Mates, she has already grown so much, but in this book she really comes into her own. Don’t get me wrong she isn’t so different she’s unrecognisable, but she’s finally starting to see what’s important to her, and she is taking to steps to ensure that she can follow through with her own hopes and dreams.’
My light-hearted short Christmas story, ‘A Very Country Christmas’ (which is free – please do grab a copy if you’ve not already read it) brought out, I feel, the real Lottie. The Lottie that has hopes and dreams of her own, but sometimes pushes those aside to help everybody else. It was lovely to read a thoughtful review from Dawn at A Page of Fictional Love which ended –
‘If you fancy indulging in a little christmas reading, and wouldn’t mind seeing “how the other half live”, this book will warm you to the bone and show you that life isn’t perfect for anyone, but when you make the effort to be thankful for what you have, and do your best with what you have, sometimes, miracles can happen. And for me, that’s the true message of christmas, perfectly captured by Zara.’
Because it just about summed up lovely Lottie!
And as Emma was kind enough to say when she reviewed the story ‘It made me long for my christmas day with the family.’
Only Lottie could have made Christmas Day at Tippermere so wonderful.
I’m now putting the finishing touches to the next book in the series – ‘Country Rivals’, and everything that Lottie has worked for is put at risk. Is she strong enough to pull through, to fight off the threats to her family and home? I really hope you’ll be cheering her on – more news very shortly!
Country Affairs by Zara Stoneley Also by this author: Stable Mates, Country Affairs, A Very Country Christmas, The Wedding Date
Series: Tippermere #2
Also in this series: Stable Mates, Country Affairs, A Very Country Christmas
on 7th May 2015
Pages: 288
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
‘A great treat for readers who love their books jam-packed with sexy men and horses.’ Bestselling author Fiona Walker
Welcome back to Tippermere for the wedding of the year…
Scatty but loveable Lottie Brinkley is famous throughout the village for her disorganised personality so when she steps up to plan the perfect wedding the only likely outcome is disaster.
When her globetrotting, love cheat of an ex, Todd, literally crashes the wedding on a not-so-noble steed, things definitely look set to take a turn for the scandalous. As rumours of why he’s back spread through the village quicker than the stable girl can drop her knickers, is Lottie’s future with sexy eventer Rory Steel about to fall at the next fence?
With a wave of unexpected pregnancies, steamy shenanigans in the hay and a farrier with more than shoeing horses on his mind, will Lottie ever be ready to take on the coveted title of Lady of the Manor and restore the Estate to its former glory?
As the heart of the village, Tipping House Estate, makes its move into the 21st Century, pulses start to race in a novel packed full of charm, hunky stallions (the guys that is), and a daring plan that just has to succeed…
A must read for fans of Fiona Walker, Tilly Bagshawe and Jo Carnegie!
Keep your eyes peeled because shortly I’ll be revealing Zara’s new cover right here.
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