Blog Tour - The Little Cornish Kitchen

Publication date 17th May 2018

Amazon UK

About the book
It's time to come home to Cornwall
With an exciting new life in Paris, Clemmie Hamilton isn't looking forward to heading home to the picturesque but sleepy village of St Aidan, Cornwall. However, when she discovers that the cosy apartment by the sea, which her grandmother left to her, is under threat from neighbour and property developer, Charlie Hobson, Clemmie realises she can't abandon her home in its time of need.
With her childhood friends encouraging her, Clemmie decides to turn the apartment into 'The Little Cornish Kitchen' – a boutique pop up pudding club raising money for the repairs to the building in an effort to stop Charlie once and for all. But when Charlie and his easy charm won't seem to go away, everything soon becomes even messier than the state of Clemmie's Cornish kitchen…

About the Author
Jane Linfoot is a best selling author, who lives in a muddy cottage, up a steep hill in Derbyshire, with her family, their pets, and an astonishing number of spiders. Although she loves seeing cow noses over the garden wall, she’s happy she can walk to a supermarket.

Jane grew up in North Yorkshire where she spent a lot of her childhood avoiding horizontal gales blowing off the sea, and wrote her first book by accident, while working as an architect, and renovating country houses. While she loves to write feelgood books that let readers escape, she’s always surprised to hear her stories make people laugh, admits to (occasionally) crying as she writes, and credits her characters for creating their own story lines.

Jane’s garden would be less brambly if she wasn’t on Facebook and Twitter so often. On days when she wants to be really scared, she rides a tandem.

Her latest books include a series of stand alone novels, based around a seaside wedding shop in Cornwall. Cupcakes and Confetti – The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea, Sequins and Snowflakes – Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop, and Bunting and Bouquets – Summer at the Little Wedding Shop, and most recently, The Little Cornish Kitchen. These are all published by Harper Impulse,  an imprint of Harper Collins.

Follow Jane on Twitter @janelinfoot, or find her on her Author Page Facebook or her Personal Page Facebook. She’s also on Instagram, and has lots of Pinterest boards relating to her novels.

My Review
Oh my goodness! I cannot begin to tell you just how perfect this book is! The cover is just absolutely gorgeous and it instantly attracted to me and made me want to read it and oh boy am I glad I read this! I just found it a real joy to read and it made me so happy.  I loved settling down and reading this, it was so relaxing. I thought the characters were super and they really made the story.  There are plenty of highs and lows in this book.  I also loved the food in this it sounded so delicious and made me extremely hungry. I am a huge fan of Jane's books and this one in my opinion is her best yet and I am looking forward to her next! 

Giveaway – Win a signed copy of The Little Cornish Kitchen, Mermaid Notebook and Sugar Unicorns (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Blog Tour - Forgive Me Not

Publication date 23rd July 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

Forgiveness can be hard to come by… An unputdownable new novel from bestseller Samantha Tonge
 How far would you go to make amends?
When Emma fled her home at Foxglove Farm, she’d let down and hurt those who cared for her most. But now, two years later, she’s ready to face up to her past; she’s ready to go back.
But Emma’s unannounced return causes more problems than she could have foreseen. The people she knew and loved aren’t ready to forget, let alone forgive. And the one person she wants to reconnect with the most, her mother, can’t remember who she is.
Just as Emma starts to rebuild trust, an uncovered family secret and a shocking past crime threaten her newly forged future...
Sometimes simply saying sorry isn’t enough.
Perfect for readers of Ruth Hogan or Amanda Prowse, this is an extraordinary and unforgettable novel about running away from yourself – and finding a way back.

About the author
Samantha Tonge lives in Manchester UK and her passion, second to spending time with her husband and children, is writing. She studied German and French at university and has worked abroad, including a stint at Disneyland Paris. She has travelled widely.
When not writing she passes her days cycling, baking and drinking coffee. Samantha has sold many dozens of short stories to women’s magazines. 

In 2013, she landed a publishing deal for romantic comedy fiction with HQDigital at HarperCollins and in 2014, her bestselling debut novel, Doubting Abbey, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award. In 2015 her summer novel, Game of Scones, hit #5 in the UK Kindle chart and won the Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.
Social Media Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamTongeWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaTongeAuthor
Website: http://samanthatonge.co.uk/

Purchase Links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07F6Z1GYC/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&linkCode=ur2&tag=canelo-21
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/forgive-me-not
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=D7liDwAAQBAJ
iBooks:https://geo.itunes.apple.com/gb/book/the-quantum-spy/id1406717966?mt=11&uo=8&at=1000l5Q7
My Review
Having previously read books from Samantha Tonge I was very excited to read this latest release Samantha has gone in a different direction with her writing for this. Do you know I was so impressed she has done magnificent with this.  Forgive Me Not is such a beautiful and very easy to read book, you will find yourself lost in the story. Emma just captures your heart. She has had a bit of a rocky patch. I shed plenty of tears with her as there is some very upsetting moments in this. I honestly found myself hooked to this and I couldn't stop reading it, I needed to know what was going to happen. It is also a real eye opener to some issues you may not know a lot about but I will say no more.  Picking up this will be the best decision you will make.    

A very emotional and heart warming read.

Blog Tour - The Story After Us

Publication date 14th July 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

Perfect for fans of Marin Keyes and Motherland - and for all women who have found their happy-ever-after turned out to be no fairy tale. Grown-up, sparkling, funny, poignant and ultimately uplifting.

If she tries very hard, Ami can remember when she used to have a dynamic and exciting career and a husband who she loved more than life itself, and who was equally smitten with her...
Now she has two children, a terrifyingly large mortgage, and no idea who she has become - or why she and her husband can't even be in the same room anymore.

With life as she knew it in tatters around her, Ami is heartbroken, and in no way pulling off ‘consciously uncoupling’ like a celeb. But she's starting to wonder if she just might come out the other side and be....happier?

As funny as Helen Fielding, as poignantly touching as Marian Keyes, Fiona Perrin's dazzling debut is a story that is as much about finding out who you really are again, as it is about the exhausting balancing act of motherhood. Unmissable for women everywhere. 

Buy now links:
Amazon: mybook.to/StoryAfterUs
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2JTLSHq
iBooks: https://apple.co/2MsSMlE 
Google play: http://bit.ly/2JJ3PVP 

About the author
Fiona Perrin was a journalist and copywriter before building a career as a sales and marketing director in industry. Having always written, she completed the Curtis Brown Creative Writing course before writing The Story After Us. Fiona grew up in Cornwall, hung out for a long time in London and then Hertfordshire, and now writes as often as possible from her study overlooking the sea at the end of The Lizard peninsula.

Follow Fiona
Website: https://fionaperrin.com/
Twitter: @fionaperrin
Facebook: @fionajperrinauthor
Instagram: @fionaperrin

Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
Extract
As I sat on the sofa waiting for Liv, images rushed through my brain the way they say they do when you are on your deathbed. The first time Lars and I ever met – me opening the door to him in a towel because he’d banged on the door of our rented flat when I was in the bath. The way my voice couldn’t stop going up and down as his did then, with his strong Swedish accent. Our first date, when he’d sung Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ to me in the same voice. Dancing in Tobago to reggae on our honeymoon. Later – when we’d bought the house we lived in now – dancing again, but around our new kitchen because we couldn’t believe our luck. The sense of him – clean, loving, determined – through all those years. Watching him stride around with Tessa strapped to his chest in a sling. Conceiving Finn in a four-poster in a country-house hotel…
How had all that hope and love come to this? I hugged a cushion closer to my chest and then there was the noise of Liv arriving outside on her boneshaker of a bike.
From the window, in the yellow of the streetlight, I could see her auburn hair flying behind her and her white skin pinked with cold. I waited at the top of the steps while she locked up her bike and pulled her bag from the basket.
She climbed up, grabbed me in an enormous hug and said, ‘Oh, Ami. You poor baby.’
I erupted into tears.
She shepherded me inside, took off her coat and pulled me down onto the sofa, where she held me against her scarlet jumper until I finally stopped crying.
‘Thanks for that. It’s really difficult getting snot out of lambswool,’ she said. I gave her a weak smile. ‘So, is this really it?’
‘I think so,’ I said – but I didn’t want to believe it and another warm tear slid down my face. I was like a thundercloud, plump with rain, which had yet to burst again, but where every so often a fat drop escaped.
Liv pulled a bottle of what looked like very expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape from her bag. ‘My landlord gave it to me. I think he wanted me to drink it with him. But this is an emergency.’ Liv’s landlord claimed to be a marquis, although when we’d searched online we couldn’t find any mention of his title. He’d met Liv at a party, fallen in lust and rented her his basement at a rock-bottom price. He wobbled home about teatime every day from the pub, pie-eyed.
She went and got a corkscrew, emptied my glass of cheaper plonk and filled two new ones very generously. Then she sat down again and I told her, in between bouts of sobbing, what had happened.
‘He thinks working so hard is the right thing to do for all of us, and I can’t make him see that we need him here – I need him here,’ I said at the end. ‘He keeps going on about how broke we still are – but that’s because we keep having to put money back into his business. It’s a vicious circle.’
‘What I do know is that it’s time to stop putting up with it.’
‘It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I’ve got this really important meeting tomorrow. And Tess keeps going on about dying – she’s already really affected by us arguing all the time.’
She pulled me close. I quietly sobbed into her shoulder until eventually she pushed me back, thrust tissues in my face and said, ‘Maybe it’s for the best. He’s made you so unhappy now for so long.’
‘But what if I could change him back into how he was? I mean, we were so fantastic in the beginning and it just seems like life and work and kids has taken over. All I want is the old Lars back.’
‘Darling, we’ve so had that conversation,’ she said, but gently. ‘And you know what we decide every time? There’s no way that the Lars you married is coming back.’
She got up and paced up and down in front of the fireplace. Behind her was a row of silver frames showing pictures of Lars and me through the last ten years – first just the two of us, then our wedding photos surrounded by family and friends, then with Tessa and Finn.
‘Look.’ Liv came back and sat on the sofa and held my hands. ‘This is a bloke who sometimes doesn’t even turn up for bloody marriage counselling. You know what I think every time you tell me that?’
I nodded and the familiar feelings of rage started to course through my veins, followed by a crushing sadness. ‘I vowed we’d stick together forever and I really wanted to make sure my children had a happy home.’
She nodded, her pale blue eyes unusually serious. ‘I know, but you can’t be the only one trying. He has to try too.’
I smiled weakly.
‘You’re going to be OK,’ said Liv. ‘Very OK. It’s very fashionable to get divorced, you know, what with all this conscious uncoupling. Clebs do it all the time. Then they take pictures of themselves being “aren’t we civilised even though we’re divorced?”, going out for breakfast with the kids. There’s a feature I read recently: decree nisi-ly or something like that.’
I shuddered. ‘There’s nothing nice about this. You’d better go or you won’t get up for work.’ Liv quite often didn’t get up for work. She was a contributing editor at a low-print-run style mag whose mission was to celebrate everything original. It was called Pas Faux and she’d gone to work there the previous year in an effort to save her breadline writing career before it became toast. Unfortunately, her overactive social life – mostly shagging boys who’d just passed their A levels – got in the way.
‘I can stay the night?’ Liv said, but I knew she hated the idea of being woken up by children in the morning.
‘I’ll be fine,’ I said and eventually, after a little more crying and hugging, she wobbled off down the road on her bike.
I poured myself another glass of posh wine and rang my mother.
‘Oh, God,’ said Mum from her Gloucestershire kitchen. ‘Oh, poor darling. Surely it’s just an argument. He’ll come back.’
‘It’s beyond that.’

Blog Tour - A Year of Finding Happiness

Publication date 1st July 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

Poignant, heart-warming and gorgeously romantic, this is a love-story with pure, unadulterated happiness at its heart. A Year of Finding Happiness shows you that the little things in life can make you smile, even when you think you might never laugh again...

Happiness doesn't factor on the deliciously rugged but utterly heartbroken Greg's radar much these days. Only his beloved Labrador Angus seems to understand his search for a way to make sense of tragedy, until he meets new neighbour Mallory Westerman...

Instantly they know that the other understands how they feel, and over time, as romance blossoms, they dare to wonder if they might, one day, be truly happy again...

There are two sides to every story, and A Year of Finding Happiness is Greg's journey back from the darkest depths to happiness...

A Year of Finding Happiness was previously published as Bridge of Hope. 

My Review

A Year of Finding Happiness is such a beautiful romance story.  From that very first chapter this story just captures your heart.  It is a real feel good story that will brighten your day. I loved this, the characters were so perfect and I just loved reading about them.

This book will make people see that no matter how tough times can be for you things do get better and you do get your happy ever after.

Extract from the book

Present Day
It had been the same damned nightmare again.
I’d been experiencing what the doctor called night terrors ever since receiving the news that Mairi had been declared dead. The love of my fucking life… dead. There were no words to describe the physical pain knotting my insides every time I realised it was true and not just a cruel dream.
There had been no body to bury. But apparently that’s not uncommon when people are lost up the side of a mountain like K2. People can lie undiscovered for years up there, so I’m told.
Sobering thought.
Over and over I asked myself why she couldn’t just be satisfied with bagging Munros here in Scotland. It’s not as if there’s a shortage. But of course that wasn’t enough of a challenge for her. She was a free spirit; an adrenaline junky.
The stupid thing was that I wasn’t even there when her accident happened, but for some bizarre reason my psyche had built up its own series of events and insisted on torturing me with the movie of Mairi’s death every time I closed my eyes.
What I wouldn’t give for a peaceful night’s sleep.
I’d taken on extra work whenever I wasn’t on the water. The boat was only a seasonal thing anyway. And although tourists loved the area surrounding the bridge over the Atlantic, taking a trip out on Little Blue on choppy water wasn’t for faint-hearted, unseasoned sailors. So I’d taken on work as a handyman. I was fixing taps, sealing sinks, unblocking drains. Oddly, all the jobs seemed to be water related. Maybe that was because I had a combination of water and single malt running through my veins. Who knows?
Keeping busy was my intention. Being occupied was the only thing stopping me from slipping into a deep depression, and I knew all too well how easy it would’ve been just to let go and fall into the abyss as Mairi did in my nightmares.
I’d met her when I was out walking. I’d pretty much given up hope of ever falling in love for real. I’d had a shot at it before – Alice was her name, but the less said about her right now, the better. But life likes to throw in curveballs every so often. And so there I was up by the Buachaille, aka the Buckle, Etive Mor in the Highlands, taking in the finest scenery my home country has to offer and the freshest air you could ever wish to breathe, when this fiery-haired girl tripped over her laces and into my arms. She had the most stunning smile I’d ever seen. And her eyes… Let’s just say when she gazed up at me she melted my heart.
We chatted for ages and it was just… so natural. It turned out she and I shared a passion for the great outdoors. The rugged expanses of moorland that stretched out around us in their palette of browns, russets and gold were a pull for both of us. Only her sense of adventure outweighed mine ten to one. Where I loved to saunter along appreciating the warm musty smell of the bracken and heather, she loved to climb anything that had stood still for over a hundred years. And here in Scotland there’s plenty of that around.
It was clear to me from that first meeting that I was never going to be the same again.
Our relationship progressed quickly and was very physical. I was a fair few years older than her but I had no trouble keeping up, if you know what I mean. I loved every inch of her body with a passion I’d never experienced before. It was raw and real. I’d sit watching her as she studied maps and reference books about climbing. Every so often she’d glance up and catch me staring and she’d just smile, climb into my lap, and kiss me.
After Alice and I split – I won’t bore you with the details yet, let’s just say that she was a nasty piece of work who messed with my head and broke my heart, more than once – I swore off love and all it entailed. I didn’t need a woman in my life. Or so I thought. But when I lost Mairi, it was as if someone had ripped out my heart and stamped on it whilst I watched. The pain was excruciating.
Physical, gut-twisting pain.
I felt sure they’d got it wrong. She went to K2 with experienced climbers. She was an experienced mountaineer too. It’d been her dream for so long. I wasn’t about to stand in her way, and the thought that she might not come back never even entered my head.
Not being able to say goodbye was the worst thing. The small memorial service held by her parents was strangely devoid of emotion. It was as if her friends and family were in some kind of denial.
I think I was too.
Thinking back to the morning she left for the trip broke my heart, but I couldn’t stop myself. It was just like those recurring nightmares, only more painful.
*

A Wedding at The Cosy Cottage Cafe

 Publication date 20th July 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

When Allie Jones’ daughter, Mandy, arrives at The Cosy Cottage Café in tears one spring morning, Allie is extremely concerned. She’s been worried about her career-driven daughter for a while, and she’s hoping she’ll finally get to find out what’s wrong.

Dawn Dix-Beaumont has her hands full with three young children, a husband who works from home and the guinea pig family that lives in her garden. She’s happier than she’s ever been, but is it too good to last?

Camilla Dix is madly in love with local vet Tom Stone. Being with Tom and cuddling her baby niece have stirred feelings she didn’t know she had, but it’s far too soon to be making long-term plans. Isn’t it?

Honey Blackwell’s boyfriend, Dane Ackerman, has secured his teaching post at Heatherlea Primary School and they’ve decided to live together. Everything seems to be working out well, until a member of Honey’s household expresses a clear dislike for the handsome teacher.

Plus someone has been planning a proposal…

Join Allie and her friends this summer as cakes are baked, secrets are shared and surprises bring smiles and tears at The Cosy Cottage Café.

This is the fifth short story in The Cosy Cottage Café series.

Now available:

Summer at The Cosy Cottage Café
Autumn at The Cosy Cottage Café
Winter at The Cosy Cottage Café
Spring at The Cosy Cottage Café

A Year at The Cosy Cottage Café – an anthology of the first four books in the series

My Review

I was so excited to get my hands on this next story in The Cosy Cottage Café series.  I have loved everything about each of them so I just couldn't wait to read this. In my personal opinion I think this has got to be the best one, I think because we have got to know the characters so well and they actually feel like my neighbours and friends.  The bond between this group of friends is so strong, and I love the way they go out of their way's to help one another. I love seeing them all happy and I really feel they all deserve so much happiness. 

When I read this I had such a smile on my face, it is just the most perfect read.  Honestly when I read the final part of this I was gutted I did not want this book to end! I had tears in my eyes. I don't want the whole 'The Cosy Cottage Café' stories to end. I really really hope we get treated to another short story at some point because it has just been wonderful.

Blog Tour - Confessions of a First Time Mum

Publication date 25th June 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

Stevie’s life has changed beyond recognition since having her first baby.

Stevie loves being a mum, but between the isolation and being vomited on five times a day, she really wishes she had someone to talk to.

With husband Ted working hard to keep the family afloat, Stevie really doesn’t want to burden him with her feelings. Turning to the internet, Stevie starts the anonymous First-Time Mum blog and blasts the rose-tinted glasses of parenthood right off her readers.

In the real world, Stevie meets the formidable Nelle and gorgeous Will, along with their own little treasures, and starts to realise that being a ‘perfect mum’ isn’t everything. But when the secret blog goes viral, Stevie must make some tough choices about who she wants to be, and whether she’s ready for the world to know the truth…

A perfect laugh-out-loud read for fans of The Unmumsy Mum, Gill Sims and Emma Robinson.

About the author

Poppy Dolan is in her mid thirties and lives in Berkshire with her husband. She's a near-obsessive baker and a keen crafter, so on a typical weekend can be found moving between the haberdashery and kitchenware floors of a department store, adding to her birthday wish list. She has written three novels: The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp, There's More to Life than Cupcakes and most recently The Bluebell Bunting Society. The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp made it into the Amazon top 100 bestseller chart, so clearly someone other than her mum must have read it. She's currently working on her fourth novel – it's about friends, siblings and crafty things – and drinking far too much tea. 

You can get in touch with Poppy on Twitter @poppydwriter and on Facebook at PoppyDolanBooks. She doesn't bite. Unless you are a dark chocolate digestive. 

My Review

I really enjoyed this book, it is completely relatable and will make a whole lot of mums feel better and feel like they aren't the only ones who are having tough times. 

The whole blog posts and all in this are so funny and I really loved reading these parts they kept getting better and better the more confident Stevie was getting.

There is so much drama in this, it is hilariously good and so exciting. 

Extract 

There are some weird moments of happiness in family life. Ones I did not see coming. There are the predictable ones and they absolutely have their merits – when Ted throws Cherry into the air just by a few centimetres and catches her smoothly; when she sees her own reflection in the hall mirror and goes wide-eyed and freaked out, then melts into a cheesy grin for this beauty she’s spotted seconds later. But the weird ones have the extra layer of joy because they sneak up to you at the oddest times.
Like just now, when I jolted awake in the passenger seat, probably from my own snores, and came to in the car foggy with burger smell and full of the people I love to the ends of the earth. Cherry is open-mouthed and dead asleep. I check my watch. Forty-five minutes, I’d say. Not too shabby. 

Maybe as she’s getting older she’s napping just that bit longer? Ted has bunched up his coat and is using it as a pillow against the driver’s side window. I must have nodded off after emotionally eating my greasy, cheesy delight and instead of taking us home and nudging me awake when we got there, he’s pulled into the McDonald’s car park and joined in this communal nap.
So, here we are: perhaps not a Hallmark card snap but a picture of total happiness to me nonetheless. Is a baby ever as delightful as when it’s silent and immobile? Can you love a man more than when he facilitates snacking and sleep?

Recharged with a micro-nap, I use the last sliver of phone battery to write a quick micro-post for the Facebook page. OK, so maybe combining a blogging career with family days isn’t going to be a blissful walk in the park. It’s probably going to be more like a roll in a shitty ball pit, but sometimes weird is right. For me, at least.

The Beautiful Oddness of Parenthood
When you have a rubbish, tearful day and it’s rescued by chips and a car nap.
Picking up the ‘grown-up’ jokes in Shrek. If you’ve got to watch something thirty-seven times in a row, it might as well have hidden penis gags in it.
Your baby lunges at you for a random chew and you get a gumming on your arm which is oddly warm and relaxing, like a very localised hydrotherapy treatment.
The white noise sheep/owl/whirring of the fan is actually pretty peaceful to sleep with, TBH.
You’d forgotten Play-Doh is really great.
The Moana soundtrack. I mean, I literally feel bad for people who haven’t heard it. You’re welcome.
Being in the park on a sunny Thursday mid-morning. OK, you’re not being mentally stimulated and you might have put your coat on over your PJs just to get out of the house, but isn’t it a bit great that you’re enjoying this lovely day, in the fresh air with a rosy-cheeked babe, and so many other suckers are stuck in a windowless office staring at a spreadsheet?
Sucking up leftover fruit purée pouches. If you sploshed a bit of Cava in that, boom, you’d have a wicked Bellini. Not that I’d recommend too much of that while in charge of a minor etc, etc.
So, come on then, parents the country over, what’s your weird moment of joy?
First-Time Mum x

I haven’t put a shout out like that before, actually asking for feedback, and it still makes me wobble as I hit ‘publish’ but there’s a bit more confidence there now, a little bit of past evidence that people are keen to engage. So let’s see. Let’s see how far First-Time Mum takes me. Because Stevie Cameron’s career definitely needs a new direction and this might just be it. Like Nelle said, in her terrifying clown get-up, my confidence has been stripped away by the early baby days. To be myself again and to be the best mum to Cherry, the best partner to Ted, I need to bring that confidence back. In a big way.

Blog Tour - The Distance Between Us

Publication date 1st July 2018

Amazon UK

About the book

For fans of Marian Keyes, Hurrah for Gin and Allison Pearson. A tear-jerking but uplifting modern love story about motherhood and marriage.

Happy children, happy husband, happily ever after?

Tasha knows that she should count her blessings: married for eleven years, mother to three healthy children, she should be content with her lot.  However, feelings of frustration have settled over her like a dark cloud.  Despite living under the same roof and sharing the same bed, Tasha has never felt so distant from her husband, Charlie.  She feels worn down by the mental load of motherhood, drowning in the never-ending chores that keep the family and household afloat.  Most of all she worries that her once happy marriage is slipping away from her.

Tasha longs for something to change, but when change comes calling will it really be the answer she was hoping for? And is it possible to fall in love with the same person twice?

A modern day love story about family, marriage and risking it all to have it all. 

About the author

Georgie  lives  in  South  West  London  with  her  husband  and  daughte

r.  Alongside  her 

writing  she  works  as  a  primary  school  teacher  and  she  particularly  e

njoys  teaching 

English.  She  studied  Italian  and  History  of  Art  at  the  University  of  E

dinburgh  and  did  a 

PGCE  in  primary  education  at  the  University  of  London. 

Follow  Georgie 

Website: 

https://georgiecapron.com/

Twitter: 

@GeorgieCapron

Facebook:  @GeorgieCapron

Follow  Aria   

Website: 

www.ariafiction.com

Twitter:  @aria_fiction 

Facebook:  @ariafiction 

Instagram:  @ariafiction 

Georgie lives in South West London with her husband and daughter. Alongside her writing she works as a primary school teacher and she particularly enjoys teaching English. She studied Italian and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh and did a PGCE in primary education at the University of London.

Follow Georgie
Website: https://georgiecapron.com/
Twitter: @GeorgieCapron
Facebook: @GeorgieCapron

Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Facebook: @ariafiction
Instagram: @ariafiction

Extract
‘Right, darling, time to turn your light off,’ Tasha said as she kissed her goodnight.
‘Night, Mum.’ Bella reached to switch off the bedside table lamp.
‘No sneaky reading in the dark…’
‘I won’t!’ Bella smiled, resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes in a bid to convince her mother that she meant what she said.
Tasha pulled the door to before heading back downstairs to try and encourage Flora to part with her homework. Her mind boggled at the complexity of the algebraic equations a ten-year-old was expected to solve these days.
Just as she was peering quizzically at number eight the landline rang.
She picked up the receiver. ‘Hello?’
‘Tasha, it’s me,’ came the ever-so-familiar voice of her husband, Charlie.
‘Where are you? I’m so late!’ she moaned, expecting the reply to be that he was just about to walk through the door at any second.
He paused. ‘I’m afraid I’m stuck here,’ he said, awkwardly.
Tasha’s heart sank, swiftly replaced by a flush of anger. ‘What? But it’s Steph’s engagement dinner. I’m all dressed up and ready to go…’
‘I know. And I’m sorry.’
‘God, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Then at least I might have found someone else to help. I’ll never find anyone now…’ Tasha was aware she was whining but she couldn’t help herself.
‘I was stuck in a meeting room with no signal.’ Charlie sounded somewhat sheepish. ‘I’m really sorry. I’ll be home as soon as I can…’ He tailed off.
Tasha slammed the phone into its holder, misjudging her aim and causing the phone to ping up and fly down the back of the table. This did nothing to calm her nerves. She dragged the side table out with a screech and extracted the handset from a coating of dust so thick it had congregated into giant, spidery clumps. It was clearly a very long time since she had pulled out the furniture to clean the harder-to-reach gaps. She tried to quell the tide of burning resentment that welled up inside her. Her eyes smarted with tears. She knew Charlie’s job in asset management was all-consuming but she still felt unbelievably let down. She had been so looking forward to this evening. It was yet another disappointment to add to the never-ending list that seemed to be accumulating under Charlie’s name.
‘Dad’s not coming home?’ Flora said with a sigh. ‘Great. So you’re the only one who can help me?’
Tasha took a calming breath. ‘Sorry, darling, I’m afraid he’s stuck at work.’ She fixed a false smile on her cheeks and said with a sort of crazed enthusiasm, ‘Don’t worry! I’m sure we can figure it out. Let’s have another look!’ She pulled up a chair and sat next to Flora. Together they puzzled through the remaining questions so that Flora could get herself upstairs and ready for bed. To add insult to injury, Tasha’s phone vibrated with messages on her school friends’ WhatsApp group – a bottle of champagne and lots of brimming glasses, a photo of Steph with her sparkling diamond ring, and a third saying ‘Hurry up and get here!’ undoubtedly aimed at her.
Kicking off her heels despondently, she made a few phone calls to her trusty friends with au pairs and her usual babysitters, but as she had suspected no one was free last minute to come and look after her children. She picked up the phone and called Flo, her closest friend from the group.
‘Tash!’ she said, already sounding as if she’d had a couple of drinks. ‘Where are you?’
‘I’m so sorry, Flo… I’m going to have to bail. Bloody Charlie is stuck at work. I’m so gutted…’ Tasha felt her eyes fill with tears, which she furiously bit back.
‘Oh, no! What a shame!’ Flo replied. Tasha could hear all the hyperactive chatter coming from the rest of the group. She felt even more upset not to be there.
‘Look, send my love to Steph and apologise for me. I’ll arrange to see her soon…’ Tasha hung up and sighed loudly.
After a few minutes staring blankly at the peeling paint on the wall, in desperate need of redecorating, she dragged herself upstairs to check on Flora, who was in bed reading. ‘Lights out soon, darling,’ she said.
‘I’m just going to get to the end of my chapter.’
‘OK, sleep tight!’
‘Mum?’ Flora said, peering over the edge of her book. ‘Thanks for your help earlier…’
‘You did really well – but I’m not sure how much use I was!’ She laughed as she closed the door.
Tasha popped in to check on Max and Bella who both seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Lacking any enthusiasm, she went into the kitchen and slopped the rest of the children’s dinner into a bowl. Pasta and a tomato sauce, not very exciting. She whacked it into the microwave and pressed the timer, finishing the washing-up while it turned around. She grated some cheese over the top in a bid to make it a little more appetising before carrying her meal through to the sitting room and plonking herself on the sofa. What a surprise – there was nothing to watch. For the second time that evening she felt absurdly close to tears. How come all of her friends had managed to sort out childcare except for her? It was Charlie’s fault. She hoped that he would be feeling guilty.

Georgie  lives  in  South  West  London  with  her  husband  and  daughte

r.  Alongside  her 

writing  she  works  as  a  primary  school  teacher  and  she  particularly  e

njoys  teaching 

English.  She  studied  Italian  and  History  of  Art  at  the  University  of  E

dinburgh  and  did  a 

PGCE  in  primary  education  at  the  University  of  London. 

Follow  Georgie 

Website: 

https://georgiecapron.com/

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@GeorgieCapron

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