Please forgive a little plug before I start. My book ‘The Woman and the Witch’ came out in April 2020. In that time I am UTTERLY ASTONISHED to say I have – at the moment of writing – got twenty-five FIVE STAR REVIEWS! Woo hoo! Hooray! Hoorah! Etc

I’m so happy I can’t tell you. I’ve even had people go to my author Facebook to say how much they are loving the book. So, so utterly wonderful to hear. Thank you to everyone who has written and commented and reviewed.

You are going to get a bit of an exclusive here because as a thank you to following my blog you are going to be the first to know that from Sunday 5th July you will have a 7 day chance to get my book for a countdown deal of 99p. So if you haven’t read it yet, now’s your chance!

Here is a link

I have been very busy at work, albeit online, so haven’t had any chance to write anything. I am hoping to work over the summer holidays on a collection of short stories to publish in the Autumn, so watch this space.

If you did enjoy my novel you make like to know that Frieda and Angie are refusing to leave my head and a couple of the short stories will feature them, so have a look if you would like to see what happened next. (Or maybe before!) There should also be an audiobook version of the novel coming soon.

Something I really love about the summer holidays is a chance to get stuck into some good books, so I thought I’d tell you about some of my choices for this year and favourite blockbuster reads of the past.

Oh goodness I loved this book. I have always adored Weiner but went off her over the last few years. I hated ‘Mrs Everything’ so I wouldn’t recommend that.

But ‘Big Summer’ is lovely. The descriptions of New York and the lives of the rich in Cape Cod were my favourite bits. Not only because it was nice to sigh over what I would do and where I would go if I was fabulously rich, but Weiner makes sure that none of the rich characters are very happy, so you can think – well I may not be rich, but I’m certainly happier than them.

Other books by Weiner I have read and liked include: ‘Good in Bed’, ‘Little Earthquakes’, and ‘In Her Shoes’

I love, love, love Jenny Colgan. I could recommend any of her fantastic books as they are just so lovely and effortlessly escapist. Warning, you may want to move to Scotland because her descriptions are so lyrical and she makes it sound so beautiful and unspoiled. I even crave a glass of Scottish tap water as she makes it sound so delicious.

She manages to have this effect on me even though I know for a fact it always rains in Scotland, if the sun comes out then so do the midges, and the mist usually stops you seeing any views.

Before you read that one do read this one first as ‘Five Hundred Miles From You’ does follow on a little bit from ‘The Bookshop on the Shore’ and you will be pleased to see the characters appearing again.

If you’re looking for a bit of funny, light-hearted, and warm romances with lovely characters and a glorious sense of place you can’t go wrong with Jenny Colgan. You can read anything by her and you won’t fail to be charmed by her sweetness.

Some older books I have enjoyed over my summer holidays…

Liane Moriarty, what a great writer and this book ticks all the boxes for a holiday read: luxury hotel, glamorous destinations – mysterious events! I can’t think of a book of hers I haven’t enjoyed – you must check her out. I did read her sister’s book ‘Gravity is the Thing’ which I did NOT enjoy AT ALL so make sure you look for Liane not Jaclyn.

You can read anything by Liane Moriarty as all her books are fantastic. Particular favourites of mine include: ‘The Husband’s Secret’, ‘What Alice Forgot’, and ‘Truly, Madly, Guilty’.

Alliott can be a bit hit or miss – I loved her earlier books though didn’t enjoy ‘The Husband Next Door’ or ‘A Cornish Summer.’ I did like this one, especially because the main character gets to stay in a beautiful place in France which is my absolute dream! Alliott does have a really annoying thing where her characters keep licking their lips. If you can overlook that, you will find this a nice enjoyable romp.

OK so it’s a little dated now but I LOVED these two books. I must have read them twenty or thirty times. The ultimate escapist reade; you can dive into it and read for hour after glorious hour. Romance/sex, intrigue, glamour, pots of money and horses – what more could anyone ask for?

If you want to have a good wallow around in the golden 70’s, vulgar 80’s, cool 90’s and beyond these books are just the thing. I was delighted to find you could get both in one go for my kindle. I adore Jilly Cooper – the Queen of escapism.

This was the only book I have read that actually does deserve its description of ‘the next Jilly Cooper’. I am not very fond of Fiona Walker’s most recent books, but this was one of her first and is absolutely first class holiday reading.

It follows Tash French on a holiday in France and it has a very Cooperish feel – lots of laughs and ridiculous characters and (my number one thing for summer reading) lots of rich, glamourous characters and high class settings.

This might seem an odd choice compared to the other, highly escapist recommendations, but I read it on holiday by a swimming pool in the sun (those were the days!) and reading of this poor woman’s struggles with cold, sheep and the weather in the beautiful but often unforgiving Yorkshire countryside made me appreciate the sun and sea twice as much.

Have a look – the whole series is really good and I take my hat off to her for managing sheep as well as about a million children.

On my ‘To Read’ list for this summer

Do have a look on Good Reads – I’ve been trying to review books whenever I finish them so you can find more there. Let me know your top tips for summer escapism – I’d love to hear any recommendations to take me away from the UK through a book as we ain’t going anywhere this summer!

Happy reading!

PS I may get a % if you click on these links but I think my account has now been closed due to no links being clicked!