Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for this entertaining and thought-provoking book. Painting Bananas Painting Bananas is all about love, dreams and taking stock. Two happy couples, one person from each on the verge of change. But as paths cross and plans unfold, will their spouses reveal their true colours? Alison struggles with insomnia. She also hates her job and fantasizes about throttling her irritating oaf-of-a boss. Thankfully, her lifelong plan to return to university will soon be realized. After supporting her husband in his career for over twenty years, it’s now her turn. He’s rooting for her every step of the way. Or so she thinks. Meanwhile, Christopher has a wake-up call with his health. Somehow, pre-diabetes has replaced his six-pack. He must take stock immediately. He realises that the perfect solution is right under his nose. He can’t wait to share his brilliant idea with his wife. The future looks good. But does she agree? Will the spouses show their support? Or will Alison and Christopher start to wonder whether they really know their other halves? Painting Bananas was written and formatted with British grammar, punctuation and humour. It is the second novel in Amanda Paull’s Cherry Dene series but can be read as a standalone story. Purchase Links Amazon Uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08GCLSKTQ Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GCLSKTQ My thoughts: A friend of mine can't live without her daily fix of 'Eastenders'. She says it always cheers her up, because she can see that other people's lives are also full of problems, but they are dealing with them and so can she. It also makes her appreciate the good things she has in life: her family, her friends, the job she loves doing, and her books. I know she is going to love Painting Bananas, because this is what she is getting for Christmas! The protagonists of this book, Alison and Christopher are in their forties, work full-time, and are happily (?) married- just not too each other! Alison is suffering from insomnia which is not helped by having to put up with her new boss Billy, who may or may not have lied about his qualifications and whose treatment of her is totally unfair. Alison is dreaming of going back to Uni and finally getting her physiotherapy degree. She had to put her career aspirations on the back burner when her twins were born and her husband needed his precious eight hours of sleep to be well-rested so that he could focus on doing well at his job. The money was always scarce, so Alison went back to work and now, although the twins have already left the nest, Alison still continues doing all the household chores at night, while being an exemplary employee during the daytime. At least, by now, they must have put aside enough money in their savings account to pay her university fees and let them live comfortably until she starts earning money again. If only she didn't keep getting blocked from entering the online account- must be a technical glitch! Christopher is a bank manager who has to travel all around the country, solving problems and sorting out inifficiencies. And he is really good at his job. The only downside is that he never gets to see his own family: his wife Sandy and his now grown-up daughter Emily. When a grumpy NHS nurse suggests he should make lifestyle changes if he wants to stave off diabetes and blood pressure problems, Christopher knows he needs to find a systematic solution. He likes the latest branch he was asked to re-organise and he would like to stop living out of his suitcase for a change. But then he starts noticing that perhaps Sandy isn't as thrilled with this change as he thought she was going to be. If you ever felt you've begun to outgrow chick-lit, but would like to read something similar, here is a perfect book for you. It was so entertaining, I really couldn't put it down. Alison's in-laws and their antics, Alison's co-workers, friends or foes, Christopher's brand-new trainers and his constant battle with his slightly expanding waistline, Sandy's token cooking attempts- Amanda Paull knows how to build up drama and make you 'see' things before the protagonists become aware of them. There is also wonderful humour that makes this all too realistic story so much fun to read! This is indeed a story about dreams and how they fit in real life, about love and how important it is to care for and support your loved ones, about family and how it can build you up or let you down- there is something for everyone. Hope you pick your copy and love it as much as I did. Thank you to Rachel and the author for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way. Author Bio Amanda Paull is a writer of humorous romantic fiction. She lives in the North East of England with her husband and works in the public sector. The inspiration for her stories comes from real life, which she tries to show the funnier side of by embellishing to the hilt. Social Media Links – Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Apaullfiction/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/Apaullfiction Thank you for reading the post! I hope you pick up the book and like it as much as I did.
If you would like to see what other bloggers thought of 'Painting bananas', here is the full blog tour schedule: Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for invititng me to participate in the blog tour for this sweet collection. And Then She Shines: A Collection of Novelettes Five women, five different issues, five ‘feel-good’ reads. And Then She Shines brings together brings together four previously published novelettes, along with Helen Libby’s new story, Cassie’s Choice. Ruby’s Secret Can you keep a secret? All the clothes Ruby’s bought may have filled her wardrobe, but they haven’t helped her to feel fulfilled. She’s been holding back on her dream of travelling for years. And now Ruby’s in debt. A LOT of debt. She’s so ashamed. She doesn’t want anyone to know, not even her boyfriend, David. He’s so careful with money – he wouldn’t understand. Ruby’s trying to change. She wants financial stability AND a good relationship. Will she be able to resolve her debt before David discovers her secret? Love, Anna Stay or go? Anna’s a romantic. She loves musical theatre, but her life is a far cry from her favourite shows. When her boyfriend Joe tells her he doesn’t love her anymore, she doesn’t know what to do. Anna just wants to be loved, but Joe suffers from depression, and they've both been unhappy for a long time. A last minute trip to Paris gives Anna some time to reflect, and shows her whether life can ever really be like a musical. Laura’s Embrace "People who love me leave me.” Laura makes a New Year’s resolution – to find her birth mother. She needs answers. What she doesn’t need is a relationship, so when things start getting serious between her and Rob, she does her best to hold back. Only Rob won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and Laura is torn. Will Laura find her birth mother? And will love find a way? Finding Ella He knows everything about her. The only thing she knows about him is that he’s her husband. Can she fall in love with him for a second time? Ella’s lost her memory – the last ten years of her life. Her friends and family want her to slot back into place, only it’s not that easy. Will Ella's memory return? Does she need to remember her husband in order to love him again? Join Ella on her journey of self-discovery. Cassie’s Choice “Something is missing from my life, and I can’t pinpoint what it is. Could it be a baby? Maybe.” What if you think you want a child, but your partner doesn’t? It’s time for Cassie to make her mind up. Does she want a baby, or not? If she does, is she willing to leave her beloved husband, Alex, in order to start again? Can you miss something you’ve never had? Does Cassie need a baby in order to feel fulfilled? So many questions, and she’s running out of time. Today I am very excited to present a guest post from Helen Libby in which she is going to tell us more about what inspired her to write the book, the writing process and her plans for future: The Novelette Project I self-published for the first time in November 2015. It was a novelette called Out of My Debt. I followed it up with a further four novelettes between December 2015 and December 2016, and in April 2017 I put them all together in one collection (Snapshots). I added a fifth story called The ‘B’ Word, and that was that for a while as during the summer of 2017 I relocated from Buckinghamshire to Shropshire. Once the dust had settled after the move, I concentrated on writing and self-publishing a non-fiction book about my dog. That book gave me a boost of confidence, which inspired to go back and take another look at my novelettes. Why go back? Lack of sales, plus, if I’m being completely honest, I knew I could do better. When I first published the novelettes, I believed they were the best they could be. A few years on I could see how a few changes would greatly enhance the stories. I decided to change, at the very minimum, the titles and the covers, and to update the book blurbs. That’s one of the big plus points of being self-published, the fact you can make changes to your book listing whenever you want to. I began with Out of My Debt, which became Ruby’s Secret. The original cover had a photograph of a loch, the same loch Ruby visits in the story. I thought (hoped) it would look more attractive with a woman in the scene. After a lot of searching I found a picture on Pixabay which I thought suited the story. I tweaked the book blurb and made a few small changes to the manuscript itself, though nothing major. The story remained essentially the same. It was re-published in the autumn of 2018. The next novelette I self-published was a brand new one. I wrote Finding Ella between 2017 and 2018, ensuring the cover depicted the figure of a woman. During 2019 I worked my way through the remaining novelettes. Paris Actually became Love, Anna. This one was re-worked. In the original story Anna leaves her partner behind because he’s not romantic enough. A beta reader suggested that this wasn’t a strong enough reason, so I decided to make Anna’s partner depressed. She didn’t leave him because of that though. She left because he told her he didn’t love her … Love You and Leave You became Laura’s Embrace, whilst The ‘B’ Word became Cassie’s Choice. The ‘B’ Word had only ever been published as part of a collection, so I did the same thing with the updated version. Cassie’s Choice is the only novelette not available as a standalone title. In the autumn of 2019, I was ready to replace the old collection Snapshots with a revamped collection – And Then She Shines. I made it available in both e-book and paperback format, and although this wasn’t my first paperback, it was the one I was most proud of, partly because of all the time I’d spent updating it, and partly because it was thick enough to have the book title and my name on the spine. Yay! To put this into context my first paperback was the non-fiction book about my dog. It’s a short book, so it’s very thin and therefore has no title or author name on the spine. Whilst publishing And Then She Shines was a milestone, it didn’t mark the end of the project to revamp my old novelettes. There are still two left to work on, which I decided to combine. I’ve been working on this project for the best part of a year. I had hoped to self-publish it this year but setting up my new business has taken precedence. Because the manuscript is a lot longer than the novelettes, currently 40,000 words, I plan to submit it to some traditional publishers, to see what they think. If I can’t find a home for it, I will definitely self-publish it in 2021. About Helen Libby Originally from North Wales, Helen currently lives in Shropshire with her husband and their dog. Helen worked for many years in the public sector and has an administrative background. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. As well as being an indie author, Helen is a self-publishing consultant, offering editorial, self-publishing, and writing services. To find out more, please go to: www.helen-edwards.co.uk Social Media Links – Facebook: www.facebook.com/helibedw Instagram: @helibedw Twitter: @helibedw Thank you for stopping by and reading Helen's guest post. Wishing her book lots of success and a Happy Wednesday to all of us!
Purchase Links UK / US Love Offline is available to read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited. It is also available to read for FREE in Prime Reading until late November. My thoughts: Nothing beats a good British rom-com, especially when you feel you can really relate to the main character! Emily Robinson is a thirty-five year old self-employed illustrator who is mostly working from home. Sadly, her last serious relationship ended in a heartbreak when she caught her ex Eric cheating on her with a younger girl. Now Eric's engagement is all over the social media and Emily is devastated. Emily's bestie Chloe is there for her with a generous portion of divine chocolate cake and carefully chosen words of advice: Emily must do herself a favour, put aside dating apps (a bit of general digital detox won't hurt) and start meeting new people in real life. Chloe says it takes about sixty days to fom a new habit, so she comes up with all sorts of fun activities to help Emily step out of her comfort zone. Off Emily goes on her quest for real love in the analogue world....But when she does meet her lovely Josh, they still have to overcome another challenge, that of trusting each other and not jumping to conclusions. Olivia Spring has created realistic, but also very entertaining characters. It isn't easy for introverts like Emily to put themselves on line and open up to new experiences. Or Kat, a single mum of three, who needs to plan and organise carefully her dating, knowing her children are her first and foremost priority. Everybody needs a bestie like Chloe, self-professed technophobe, always classy, even when she rushes off to sort Em's problem in a complete set of overnight hair-rollers. Love offline works for both types of romantics- those who believe in chance, lucky meet-cutes, and those who believe in creating opportunities to meet your soulmate, those who want to find somebody to click and feel comfortable with and those who know relationships need work, those who embrace our digital world with all its pros and cons, and those who prefer old-fashioned human touch. It's a quick and entertaining read with hilarious moments that will make you smile, but also will make you reflect. Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random resources for inviting me to participate in this tour and to the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way. Author Bio –
Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women's fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel 'The Middle-Aged Virgin', which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full. Olivia published three novels in 2019: 'Only When It's Love', 'Losing My Inhibitions' and 'Love Offline'. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy’, the hotly anticipated sequel to ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ and Olivia’s fifth novel, was published in July 2020. When she's not writing, Olivia can be found making regular trips to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book! Social Media Links – https://twitter.com/ospringauthor https://www.facebook.com/ospringauthor/ https://www.instagram.com/ospringauthor/ http://www.oliviaspring.com/ https://www.bookbub.com/authors/olivia-spring #LoveOffline Happy Book Birthday to The Ticklemore Toy Shop by Liz Davis! I hope you'll join me in this Publication day celebration of this wonderful story. The Ticklemore Christmas Toy Shop You’re never too old to fall in love… There is a disturbance in the force and octogenarian Hattie Jenkins can feel it in her water. Still active and spritely, she guesses that the miserable-looking gentleman sitting morosely in the café where she works, might be the reason. Widowed Alfred Miller has recently moved in with his daughter because she is worried that he’s becoming too frail and forgetful to look after himself. And he’s not in the least bit happy about it, especially since his home is soon be cleared and sold. But when he enlists Hattie’s help to save some of his precious belongings, he doesn’t realise that Hattie’s mission is to save more than a few sticks of furniture. She’s on a mission to save him, too. Purchase Links UK / US My thoughts: Loved this touching, feel-good family story! It wasn't what I had expected at all and all the better for it. Achingly realistic, moving, thought-provoking, it was also entertaining and optimistic. Eighty year old Hattie Jenkins might be considered quite eccentric by the inhabitants of Ticklemore, a little viiilage with the butcher, baker, candlemaker, and three cafes to provide numerous tourists with their cakes and tea. Luckily for her, Hattie has a job- she is a waitress in Bookylicious, a bookshop/cafe, and this is where she meets Alfred (don't call him Alfie, he does mind this childish equivalent of his name, although people have recently taken to calling him this, as if the elderly don't have any right to their full names). Hattie knows in her heart there is something wrong about this old gentleman, some kind of loneliness or sadness emanating from him. He is a bit grumpy as well, or rather not used to people taking interest in him. Alfred lost his beloved wife Dorothy to cancer two years ago and now his well-intentioned, but slightly overbearing daughter Sara decided he should move in with her, and it isn't working out very well for both of them. Alfred realises his behaviour and the way he talks to Sara resembles more a rebellious teenager than a loving parent, but he would like her to trust him a bit more, and above all, he would like to feel useful. For years Alfred has been making wooden toys in his garden shed/secret workshop. Unimpressed Sara wants to get rid of all the old furniture, clothes and various objects Dorothy and Alfred had lovingly chosen and acquired over the course of their long and happy life together. When Alfred asks Hattie to help him find a storage unit in a vain attempt to save something from his old life, Hattie is happy to oblige, and when she sees his wonderful collection of hand-made, carved of wood toys, she knows these toys can't be just thrown away, they need to find a way to children's homes and children's hearts. Hattie might not be as young as she used to be, but when she sets her heart on doing something, she is absolutely unstoppable. Her friend Nell suggests that there might be enough toys in Alfred's collection to open a toy shop, and once the idea is planted in Hettie's mind...all she needs is a bit of support from her community. This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions- it was full of fun scenes (just wait till you read about Hattie's fashion choices) and loving details that just broke my heart (Dorothy's apron still hanging from the kitchen chair). Above all, it made me think about different life stages and how we all need to feel capable, independent, loved, and appreciated. We do need more diverse protagonists in our reads and this book does a great job of showing how whether you are young, middle-aged, or elderly, we all need each other and have a lot to learn from one another. I cannot recommend this book highly enough- I hope you pick it, get yourself a cuppa (of whatever hot beverage tickles your fancy), get immersed in the lives of Hettie, Alfred and other inhabitants of Ticklemore and get another proof that life is wonderful at any age. Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to participate in this publication day celebration and, of course, to Liz Davies for her fabulous book. About the author
Liz Davies writes feel-good, light-hearted stories with a hefty dose of romance, a smattering of humour, and a great deal of love. She’s married to her best friend, has one grown-up daughter, and when she isn’t scribbling away in the notepad she carries with her everywhere (just in case inspiration strikes), you’ll find her searching for that perfect pair of shoes. She loves to cook but isn’t very good at it, and loves to eat - she’s much better at that! Liz also enjoys walking (preferably on the flat), cycling (also on the flat), and lots of sitting around in the garden on warm, sunny days. She currently lives with her family in Wales, but would ideally love to buy a camper can and travel the world in it. website / Facebook / twitter |
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