Spring Blogger Evening 2016

Posted 27th March 2016 by Emma in Uncategorized / 0 Comments

As a lot of you have probably seen on 16th March I was lucky enough to be invited to the Spring Bogger Evening with Books and the City.

So I got myself all dressed up for a night of fizz, books and sugar. I have to say the girls over at BATC did not disappoint. I arrived an hour early so I treated myself to a dinner of Wasabi, if you’ve never had Wasabi I would highly recommend the Sushi. It is literally the best sushi I’ve ever eaten.

The author panel consisted of Penny Parks, Paige Toon, Holly Hepburn and Juliet Ashton. I was already a big fan of Paige and Holly. I have read almost all of Paige’s books and I’m so in love with Holly’s Star and Sixpence Story so I was super excited to meet these two. I had seen Juliet’s book on Twitter a few weeks before but I have never heard of Penny but after this evening I will be keeping my eye on her.

We were treated to a reading from each of their upcoming books and by the end of the evening I was dying to read all 4 books and was thrilled to find out that in our goody bags were copies of each of them.

I’m going to go through these in publication order.

These Days of Ours by Juliet Ashton
Also by this author: The Woman at Number 24, The Sunday Lunch Club
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on April 7th 2016
Pages: 435
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible

A novel about love. Raw important love. Small, beautiful love. And what happens when the person you love cannot be yours… Perfect for fans of Rowan Coleman, Jane Green and David Nicholls.
Kate and Becca are cousins and best friends. They have grown up together and shared all the most important milestones in their lives: childhood birthday parties, eighteenth birthdays, and now a wedding day as they each marry their childhood sweethearts, Charlie and Julian.
Kate has always loved Charlie - they were meant to be. Then she discovers that life never turns out quite how you expect it to. And love doesn't always follow the journey it should.
But best friends are forever, and true love will find a way, won't it…?

A romantic summer novella, the second inThe Star and Sixpence series.
Praise for Holly Hepburn:
'Gorgeously romantic, unputdownable and utterly delicious!' Miranda Dickinson
'A completely charming, fantastically funny, romantic romp, perfect reading for a sunny afternoon' Scarlett Bailey

The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon
Also by this author: The Longest Holiday, Lucy in the Sky, Johnny Be Good, Baby Be Mine
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on 19th May 2016
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible

This story follows three triplets Phoebe, Eliza and Rose and the one they all fall in love with, Angus.

Out of Practice by Penny Parkes
Also by this author: Out of Practice, Home
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on 23rd May 2016
Pages: 496
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible

Out of Practice is based around a large country medical practice, which proves to be a hotbed of rivalry, resentment and romance - and that's just the doctors. Think James Herriot meets House.

Meet married mum of two and successful GP Holly Graham as she relocates her family to join the team at The Practice at Beckerford, hoping to find the peaceful life she craves, despite the chaos that comes with her two year old twins and the troublesome state of her marriage. It will certainly be a challenge to keep her private and professional lives separate in such a tight-knit community.

Her colleagues have their own issues to contend with. The gorgeous Dr Dan Carter is struggling with to focus on work and the last thing he needs is any more stress; having his ambitious ex-girlfriend Dr Julia Channing working alongside him isn't really helping. Thankfully, the rather delectable Dr Taffy Jones is on hand to distract Holly from the escalating situation at home.

Feisty octogenarian and resident celebrity, Elsie Townsend, is Holly's favourite patient and saving grace. Elsie's inspirational Life Lessons come at the perfect moment, as The Practice is suddenly under threat of imminent closure and Holly rediscovers her voice and her priorities just in time …

After the readings we were treated to an interesting Q&A where we discussed the different relationships women have in their lives and the different types of love that we experience. We talked about the relationships between sisters, best friends and lovers. We discussed the friendship between two women and how it is different to the friendship of two males. I really enjoyed hearing the thoughts of these authors and how these related to their books.

Now I already mentioned the goody bags which were filled with not only books but other wonderful treats. There was also 3 more books available for our lucky little hands.

Now if that wasn’t enough the gorgeous Georgina Clarke arrive at the last minute from Barcelona to sign copies of her book sampler (also in our goody bags) and to chat to us.

The Regulars: A Novel by Georgia Clark
Published by Simon & Schuster UK on 11th August 2016
Pages: 400
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible

Best friends Evie, Krista, and Willow are just trying to make it through their mid-twenties in New York. They’re regular girls, with average looks and typical quarter-life crises: making it up the corporate ladder, making sense of online dating, and making rent.

Until they come across Pretty, a magic tincture that makes them, well...gorgeous. Like, supermodel gorgeous. And it’s certainly not their fault if the sudden gift of beauty causes unexpected doors to open for them.

But there’s a dark side to Pretty, too, and as the gloss fades for these modern-day Cinderellas, there’s just one question left:

What would you sacrifice to be Pretty?

I would like to say a massive thank you to SJ and her team for throwing this event for us and I cannot wait to dive into these books.

About Holly Hepburn

I’ve wanted to write books for adults for as long as I can remember but I was too scared to try. One day I decided to be brave and dipped a toe into the bubble bath of romantic comedy with my first novella, Cupidity, and I’ve never looked back. I often try to be funny to be funny, except for when faced with traffic wardens and border control staff. My favourite thing is making people smile.

I’ve tried many jobs over the years, from barmaid to market researcher and I even had a brief flirtation with modelling. These days I am mostly found writing.

I live near London with my grey tabby cat, Portia. We both have an unhealthy obsession with Marmite.

About Juliet Ashton

I write books. I’m an introverted extrovert, a homebody who loves going out, a nosey parker who can keep secrets. I live by the Thames. My study feels like the centre of the universe. I share my house with Matthew, who writes songs and composes film music in his studio upstairs, and our daughter, Niamh. Two dogs sleep at my feet all day, Mavis and Zelda, both pedigree idiots.

I’m five foot six, mostly Irish. I find humans fascinating, whether they’re evil or sweet or saintly or annoying or … I just like humans, and that’s why I write about them.

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About Paige Toon

I was born in 1975 and my dad’s career as a racing driver meant that I grew up between Australia, England and America. I worked at heat magazine for eight years as Reviews Editor, but left to have a baby. I’m now a full-time author and freelance journalist. I live in North London with my husband Greg, son Indy and daughter Idha.

About Penny Parkes

Penny Parkes survived a Convent education largely thanks to a ready supply of inappropriate novels and her passion for writing and languages.

She studied International Management in Bath and Germany, before gaining experience with the BBC. She then set up an independent Film Location Agency and spent many happy years organising shoots for film, television and advertising – thereby ensuring that she was never short of travel opportunities, freelance writing projects or entertaining anecdotes.

Penny now lives in the Cotswolds with her husband, two children and a geriatric spaniel. She will often be found plotting epic train journeys through the Alps, baking gluten-free goodies or attempting to prove that you can, in fact, teach an old dog new tricks.

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