All she wants for Christmas is peace and quiet, and to be alone… Theo Pascoe is relieved she finally has her cottage back to herself, after her beloved son, wife, and grandson move out to their new home. Christmas is fast approaching and she’s fully booked doing the work she loves, preparing Christmas decorations for the local hotel, running wreath-making workshops, and dressing clients homes for the holidays. However her family and friend think they know best – that she is suffering from empty-nest syndrome and what she really needs is some romance back in her life. But that’s the last thin ..read more

A daring rescue. A time-trapped forest. Paranormal problems for a down-to-earth detective. War waged over wi-fi. An app to die for and a fateful shirt. Musing on the rails. Hermits, caves and epic tales. Roboboats aimlessly afloat. Passengers and paintings. The keys to sunlight, and young love in sunlit Santiago. Freedom has many faces. In Taking Liberties it is met in a dozen different guises and in worlds where nothing is what it seems. Threaded through with the theme of freedom, the stories explore what it means to yearn for escape and to search for the true self, whether in the DNA or in ..read more

Activist Xander Wallace and his straitlaced father do not have an easy relationship. Jim’s views on race, immigration, gender, sexuality and even Millennials alienate his son no matter how hard Xander tries to find common ground. Toss in Jim’s second marriage ten months after Xander’s mother died and it’s a volatile cocktail. How, against this backdrop, will Xander ever dare to bare his soul and reveal his greatest secret? I was invited to review this book by the author, who provided me with a digital copy of the book for this purpose. I have reviewed the book honestly and impartially. A gr ..read more

London, 1988 Young prostitute, Devlin Hunter is distraught when her best friend Roxy is found murdered, pushing her back into drug addiction. After a snuff film is uncovered depicting Roxy’s death by a masked killer, the police struggle for leads. Devlin stumbles upon a connection between the snuff film and a local adult entertainment studio and infiltrates the company by going undercover as an actress. She tracks down those responsible and seduces each of them before exacting her brutal revenge. However, the police are soon on her trail and it becomes a race against time to kill them before ..read more

Today’s guest on my celebratory drinks tour of this year’s RONA nominees has been shortlisted in the Shorter Romantic Novel category for her novel, A Proposal to Risk Their Friendship, it is author… Louise Allen. Louise, welcome to the blog. Thank you for joining me for drinks this evening. First things first, what are you drinking? Thank you for asking. And let me say now, before the effects of a glass or three make me forget, thank you so much for inviting me along! I’d like Champagne, please, although I’ll probably regret it in the morning. If we weren’t here in my virtual bar ..read more

My next guest on the blog to chat about her recent nomination in the 2022 Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Novel Awards in the Shorter Romantic Novel category for her book, A Ration Book Christmas Broadcast, is Jean Fullerton. Jean, thank you for joining me for drinks this evening. First things first, what are you drinking? Hi, Julie, it’s my pleasure and I’ll have a rum and coke please. Captain Morgan’s if the have it but Lambs if not. I’ve been drinking that since I was fifteen – yes, I know it was illegal even back in the 70s but nobody bothered about such details back then. If w ..read more

I’m delighted to be launching my month-long celebration of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Novel Awards 2022 with a special edition of my Friday Night Drinks feature and by welcoming award nominee, Sarah Mallory, to the blog. Sarah has been short-listed in the Shorter Romantic Novel Award category for her book, Cinderella and the Scarred Viscount. Sarah, welcome back to the blog and congratulations on your nomination. Thank you for joining me for drinks this evening. First things first, what are you drinking? Thanks for inviting me again! I thought I would celebrate tonight ..read more

Beautiful places hide dark secrets …  Devon’s very own crime writer L.V Hay (The Other Twin, Do No Harm) brings forth three new short stories from her dark mind and poison pen: – For kidnapped Meg and her young son Danny, In Plain Sight, the remote headland above Lynmouth is not a haven, but hell. – A summer of fun for Catherine in Killing Me Softly becomes a winter of discontent … and death. – In Hell And High Water, a last minute holiday for Naomi and baby Tommy  becomes a survival situation … But that’s before the village floods. All taking pla ..read more