One Day Blog Blitz and Author Guest Post: A Little Hotel in Cornwall by Laura Briggs

Re-booting Maisie’s Cornish Adventures

Thanks so much to Ellesea for letting me share with her readers about my series A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL. Its books have been among my favorites to work on, with its breathtaking setting, plucky heroine, and a parade of exciting events ranging from a glitzy summer ball, to a daring jewelry heist, and even a whirlwind trip to Paris at one point. Luckily for me, readers were eager to see more of Maisie Clark and the staff at the quirky hotel Penmarrow, even when the eighth installment had wrapped with a seeming happy-ever-after.

Now that I’ve launched plans to reboot the series with a brand new set of stories about Maisie’s life, I thought it might be fun to share a few details on how these up-coming adventures will be different from the original set of eight novellas...without giving away too many spoilers for either series, of course! So let’s dive in, starting with the biggest change readers can expect when it comes to Maisie’s continuing stories.

More tearjerker moments will pop up

Up to this point, Maisie’s experience has been pretty idyllic, after all. She chased her writing dreams to Cornish shores, found her home away from home at a cosy seaside hotel, and fell madly in love. It had the spirit of adventure found in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s works, with a dash of Agatha Christie and Daphne du Maurier when it came to intrigue and drama. And even though her new stories will have similar escapist elements, there will also be dilemmas of the heart more profound than Maisie has encountered in the past.

Readers will notice a bit more influence from Me Before You than episodes of Road to Avonlea this time around. There are nods to classic romance tropes found in other stories like The Way We Were, Dying Young, and Love Story, for instance. Bigger obstacles and higher stakes await Maisie in the next phase of her journey—one that involves less Cornish sunshine and more drizzly London days as she forges a new path to happy-ever-after. Which brings us to the next big change, one involving the reason Maisie came to Cornwall in the first place.

Maisie’s writing dreams take a new turn

From the start, Maisie’s passion for books and writing has played a huge role in the series. It was the catalyst for her journey to Cornwall in the first place, on the trail of the elusive but brilliant novelist Alistair Davies for some much needed advice. And even though her literary hero wasn’t quite how she pictured, Maisie still found the key to her dreams on Cornish shores (in more ways than one, as it turned out).

Her literary aspirations will play an even bigger role in this new set of books, but with a different set of challenges. Maisie will find herself on the fringes of the London writing scene and part of a publishing circle that boasts colorful characters, petty rivalries, and at least one snobby editor who would like to take a match to her work. It’s a quirky and whirlwind journey that I hope readers will enjoy being part of almost as much as the antics at the Penmarrow, where Maisie will still be on hand as part-time chambermaid for all the drama unfolding in its stately halls. There will be a few other grand backdrops for her new adventures too, which brings us to the final big difference readers can expect from the series reboot.

Get ready for more location hopping

In addition to the Penmarrow and her life in London, Maisie will spend more time at a certain Gothic manor house that readers encountered in the original series’ eighth novella, The Cornish Key to Happiness. Whirlwind holidays to exotic places and a memorable trip to Oxford are also in Maisie’s near future. So definitely more scenery changes than previous adventures, but with all roads leading back to the atmospheric Penmarrow, as Maisie’s home away from home, and the place her heart most wants to be.

So if you read and loved the original series, I hope you’ll be sure to check out the new spin on a familiar world. And if you’ve never tried it but think it sounds like your cup of tea—well, now is the perfect time to join the fun! The eight novellas in A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL are available as both individual titles, as well as a book bundle (which also comes in two handy paperback volumes). The first installment in Maisie’s new set of books, The Girl of Lost Petals and Possibilities, is already available at major eBook retailers, with three more titles on pre-order.

A Little Hotel in Cornwall: Books 1-8 by Laura Briggs

All eight novellas in the UK bestselling series A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL are now available in one collection! Follow aspiring young author Maisie Clark as she stumbles into a role as a maid in the idyllic hotel by the sea, where there’s never a dull moment, from her quest to track down a reclusive English novelist, to her brush with jewel thieves and a whirlwind trip through Paris and London to name a few. All the while, she finds herself falling for the handsome and enigmatic groundskeeper Sidney Daniels. Could the key to unlocking her dreams be right in front of her?

This collection contains A Little Hotel in Cornwall, A Spirited Girl on Cornish Shores, Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses, The Cornish Secret of Summer’s Promise, A Train from Penzance to Paris, A Cornish Daisy’s Kiss, A Stargazy Night Sky, and The Cornish Key to Happiness.

http://mybook.to/LHboxset

Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller 'A Wedding in Cornwall'. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.

Author Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1JjeMoI

Twitter page: http://bit.ly/1ME9ivJ

Giveaway to Win a PB copy of A Little Hotel in Cornwall: Books 1-8 and a scarf with cover art from the series printed on it (Open to UK and US Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK & US 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 Rachel’s Random Resources reserves 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 Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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New Publication Spotlight & Author Guest Post: Winning Back His Duchess by Amanda McCabe

GUEST POST

One of my favorite things about writing historicals is—the clothes!!! The Wilkins sisters of “The Dollar Duchesses” series (especially beautiful Rose!), as a American heiresses, could afford any of the finest gowns of the day. But of course she would first go to Worth, as everyone of the day did! A lady simpley had be dressed by The House of Worth. Rose, as the most stylish lady in London Society, often wears his gorgeous gowns—and hopefully her estranged (but still deeply loving) husband Jamie notices...

Charles Frederick Worth, the designer who dominated Parisian fashion in the latter half of the nineteenth century, was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England, on October 13, 1825. As a young man, Worth worked as an apprentice and clerk for two London textile merchants. In addition to gaining a thorough knowledge of fabrics and the business of supplying dressmakers during this time, he also visited the National Gallery and other collections to study historical images for inspiration in his romantic style of design

Worth relocated to Paris in 1845. Despite early struggles, he found work with Gagelin, a prominent firm that sold textile goods, shawls, and some ready-made garments. Worth became Gagelin’s leading salesman and eventually opened a small dressmaking department for the company, his first position as a professional dressmaker. He contributed to the reputation of the firm with prize-winning designs displayed in the Great Exhibition in London (1851) and the Exposition Universelle in Paris (1855). Worth opened his own firm with a business partner in 1858.

Worth’s rise as a designer coincided with the establishment of the Second Empire in France. The restoration of a royal house in 1852, with Napoleon III (1808–1873) as the new emperor, once again made Paris an imperial capital and the setting for numerous state occasions. Napoleon III implemented a grand vision for both Paris and France, initiating changes and modernization that revitalized the French economy and made Paris into a showpiece of Europe. The demand for luxury goods, including textiles and fashionable dress, reached levels that had not been seen since before the French Revolution (1789–99). When Napoleon III married Empress Eugénie (1826–1920), her tastes set the style at court The empress’ patronage ensured Worth’s success as a popular dressmaker from the 1860s onward.

Worth’s designs are notable for his use of lavish fabrics and trimmings, his incorporation of elements of historic dress, and his attention to fit. While the designer still created one-of-a-kind pieces for his most important clients, he is especially known for preparing a variety of designs that were shown on live models at the House of Worth. Clients made their selections and had garments tailor-made in Worth’s workshop. This spread his fame far beyond the designers known only to those “in the known.”

The large number of surviving Worth garments in the permanent collection of The Costume Institute, as well as in other institutions in the United States, is testament to Worth’s immense popularity among wealthy American patrons, as well as European royalty and aristocrats. Many clients traveled to Paris to purchase entire wardrobes from the House of Worth. For the wealthy woman, a complete wardrobe would consist of morning, afternoon, and evening dresses , and lavish “undress” items such as tea gowns and nightgowns, which were worn only in the privacy of one’s home. Women also looked to Worth to supply gowns for special occasions, including weddings and ornate masquerade balls, a favorite entertainment in both the United States and Europe. Worth’s clients also included stars of the theater and concert stage. He supplied performance costumes and personal wardrobes for leading actresses and singers such as Sarah Bernhardt, Lillie Langtry, Nellie Melba, and Jenny Lind.

With his talent for design and promotion, Charles Frederick Worth built his design house into a huge business during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. His sons, Gaston-Lucien (1853–1924) and Jean-Philippe (1856–1926), took over their father’s business following his death in 1895 and succeeded in maintaining his high standards. Jean-Philippe’s designs in particular follow his father’s aesthetic, with his use of dramatic fabrics and lavish trimmings. The house flourished during the sons’ tenure and into the 1920s. The great fashion dynasty finally came to an end in 1952 when Charles Frederick Worth’s great-grandson, Jean-Charles (1881–1962), retired from the family business.

---

Citation

Krick, Jessa. “Charles Frederick Worth (1825–1895) and the House of Worth.”

“The House of Worth: Portrait of an Archive”

Winning Back His Duchess

BLURB

Escape to beautiful Venice for this Victorian marriage reunited story…

An invitation to Venice…

To save their marriage!

Suggesting divorce to her estranged husband, Jamie, Duke of Byson, takes all of Rose Wilkins’s courage. Years of distance and heartbreak have taken a toll—she needs a new start. But Jamie won’t hear of divorce, because of the scandal alone. His counteroffer is a trip to Venice… Might discovering Venice’s delights together rekindle the still-simmering desire that drew Rose to Jamie as a starry-eyed young American heiress?

PURCHASE LINKS

US - https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Back-Duchess-Dollar-Duchesses/dp/1335407758/

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winning-Back-Duchess-Dollar-Duchesses/dp/1335407758/

AUTHOR BIO

Amanda wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen--a vast historical epic starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class (and her parents wondered why math was not her strongest subject...)

She's never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times BOOKReviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Santa Fe with a Poodle, a cat, a wonderful husband, and a very and far too many books and royal memorabilia collections.

When not writing or reading, she loves taking dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network--even though she doesn't cook.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

(4) Amanda McCabe Books | Facebook

Amanda McCabe (@amandamccabeauthor) • Instagram photos and videos

http://ammandamccabe.com

Amanda McCabe (@AmandaMcCabe01) / Twitter

New Publication Spotlight & Author Guest Post: Unforgettable by R.E. Loten

This section comes right at the beginning of the book. Tom has just arrived at The University of Exeter and is feeling a little anxious. He’s just met his room-mate (who seems a bit odd) and they are heading back over to the main hall of residence building to meet the other new arrivals. Tom is anxious to make a good impression and he wants people to think he’s super-confident, but in reality, he has huge doubts about himself.

The walk, although brief, provided me with an opportunity to take more notice of my surroundings, as I was no longer preoccupied by a suitcase hovering on the brink of imminent collapse. To my untutored eye, there wasn’t much in the gardens to inspire deeper thought and I felt a sudden yearning for home. Devon was pretty enough, I suppose, but it had little to appeal to an adolescent who was a city boy to his core. The rolling landscape held no great attraction to one whose ideal view was the city of London from Tower Bridge: a sprawling cityscape where you were jostled impatiently should you ever have the temerity to attempt a moment to stop and appreciate the sights around you. It was a city impregnated with history but obsessively focused on the immediate; intimately aware of its heritage but insistent on living in the now. London, with its safety net of anonymity, where you could be whoever you wanted, do whatever you liked and no-one would even give you the satisfaction of a second glance. After all, who were you to warrant one? We’ve seen it all before, their indifference shouted at you. You were no-one special, just another living dot on a landscape so diverse, it believed itself to be un-shockable. It was totally at odds with this area of the country and I felt the difference in my heart with a sudden longing for the hard pavements and grimy air of the capital. The fresh air here was suffocating. The gruff tones and lost letters that belied the caring heart within my home city had been replaced by the softer sounds of the West Country. Its gently modulated tones were accompanied by kind-eyed looks that spoke of a genuine desire to know you better. Gone was the frenetic pace of life that screamed in your ear, telling you that like a child late for a school trip, you’d get left behind if you paused to take a breath and savour the moment. A much calmer, quieter voice took its place, reminding you to look around. It didn’t want you to miss the red-orange smoulder of the sunset that illuminated fields full of grazing sheep, the glow of the dying day setting the white wool afire.

It should have made me feel more relaxed, but it didn’t. I still felt like that child: I hadn’t quite given up hope that something, or someone, would come along and rescue me, but was experiencing the dawning misery that I was the proverbial fish out of water here. This was not my home territory and I would have to fight to keep my standing. I wanted to have my intellect recognised, to prove I deserved to be here. I needed reassurance that being rejected from Cambridge did not signify the end of my dreams – this was the beginning of a new and different, but equally exciting future. My Cambridge failure had left me feeling as though my life had ended before it had even begun. I’d been so focused on the path I’d set out for myself that I failed to anticipate that just occasionally, life cannot be planned. The world doesn’t read the script you’ve written for yourself and its author sometimes decides your character must travel a different path.

In this latter area at least, I knew I would not be alone. During my brief wait in the hall prior to being assigned to my room, I had overheard part of a whispered conversation.

‘Of course you can do this, sweetheart. Oxford just wasn’t meant to be; you’re more than clever enough to be here.’

‘I am good enough,’ I told myself.

Maybe if I told myself often enough, I would begin to believe it.

These musings occupied me until I became aware that the sharp crunching underfoot had changed to the silence of the tarmac, melted into submission beneath the many feet that had trodden its well-worn surface. This change signalled we had almost reached the back of the house and it drew me out of my funk and focused me back in the present. I turned to Peter with a rueful grin as I pushed the door open and prayed he’d not said anything important while my thoughts had been wandering. As my mum would have no doubt reminded me, had she not already been on her way back eastwards; he may not have been destined to become my best friend, but he’d done nothing to deserve my rudeness, however inadvertent it may have been.

That started me thinking about home once again and I slammed the gate on that particular avenue of thought, not wanting to lose myself for a second time in memories of home. It was tempting to meander down that road, but however comforting those contemplations might have been, I needed to be here, now. The two hundred and fifty miles that separated me from everything I knew could have been a whole world away for all the good that thinking about it would do me. Home was safe and this was scary, but scary was good. Scary got the adrenaline going and kept me on my toes. Scary meant I was pushing the boundaries and making myself a better person. This was a challenge I was ready for, one I fully intended to face head on and overcome. I would seek out the people who I’d spend the next year living with, I would make friends and I would be a success. This was the mantra I repeated to myself through the library and the laundry room, along the corridor and out into the main entrance hall. Earlier, it had been full of freshers, dragging bags and saying their goodbyes to parents, some of whom were embarrassingly tearful. Now it was eerily quiet and gave the impression it was mourning its lost occupants.

Unforgettable by R.E. Loten

There are first loves and there are last loves. But what happens when they overlap?

Tom Blythe falls in love quickly. He fell for Olivia the first time they met. The same thing happens when he meets Grace. The problem is: Tom is still in love with Olivia.

Pulled in two different directions, Tom has a choice to make. He knows he’s unhappy, but is that enough for him to forget the vows he made? Both women have difficult pasts and Tom is desperate to help them, but at what cost?

Can he let Olivia go and commit his future to Grace? Or will the pull of the past prove too strong?

mybook.to/LotenUnforgettable

A former teacher, Ruth’s first writing memory is for her writer’s badge in Brownies but her MA in Creative Writing probably trumps that. One of the founders and editors of the digital literary and visual arts magazine, Makarelle, she has been published in various anthologies and is usually found in her study, mainlining coffee and frantically pinning editorial notes onto a noticeboard. In November 2019, Ruth was appointed Writer In Residence at Brightlingsea Lido. Although she has written a number of books for children and teenagers, this is Ruth’s debut novel for adults.

www.reloten.com

https://twitter.com/lotenauthor

https://www.facebook.com/lotenauthor -

https://www.instagram.com/lotenauthor/

Giveaway to Win a signed paperback copy or a kindle version of Unforgettable (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK 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 Rachel’s Random Resources reserves 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 Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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One Day Book Blitz and Author Guest Post: Anything You Can Do by B.R. Maycock.

Why did we do this again? Being inspired …

I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this, but writing can be a bit stressful. Really, no? Well that’s good. If you’re not stressed with it, keep on doing what you’re doing. Because for a lot of people it’s easy to get caught up in writing rules, tips and the whole wealth of information on social media and end up writing … nothing. That or looking at things like other people’s word counts and become so paralysed with fear that they freeze.

I won’t pretend that words flow out of my fingertips like rainbows and that my head is always full of the next part of the story, but I have learned a thing or two in my years in this game (doesn’t this sound like I know what I’m talking about? Nobody does really, but that’s for another day!)

The thing is, when it comes down to it there is something everybody needs to remember. We all started this to scratch an itch, right? We had a story that needed to be told, or we were inspired by something, or we wanted to be creative … whatever it was, I’m pretty sure there’s very few people who decided they wanted to study something new and make sure they hit all the marks in the theory of creative writing! (If you did, again, that’s fine!)

For most, we began all of this (throws hands in air and gesticulates wildly at nothing in particular as wild dramatic people do in fiction) for fun. Remember that? Remember the ‘just writing’? When we weren’t bound by word counts or rules or expectations? Well you’re still not. Not the ones that you think or at least not as many as you think. If your work in progress is getting you down right now, stop.

Stop and write something just for you, no matter how short, how crazy, how different to your genre. Pluck a title from the wind and let go. If it’s not happening, brainstorm for it or your current wip, but brainstorm in a way that gets all the juices going. Throw words down related to characters, settings, events. Write large words that really put it out there for you (remember this is for you and so they should be grand words that you love). Be inventive, be kooky. But most of all forget about the rules. This is just for fun. Maybe you’ll share it someday, maybe it’s going to play a huge part of your work in process. Perhaps it will come in handy somewhere amazing, like a blog, website or magazine, but that is not what you’re thinking right now. Right now you’re wondering where this story will go, and you’re exited by it, having fun and are proud of yourself.

And then comes the writing. If it’s not happening, go for a walk or pick up a book, even a shower is great (pesky brain realises you can’t bring a notebook into the shower!) and chances are inspiration will hit. As I said, let yourself go. And enjoy!

Anything You Can Do by B R Maycock

What would you do if the stars aligned to put everything right in your home?

If Roles Were Reversed ...

Caroline and Noel Morton are two people who need a change. One wants to escape the rat race while the other hopes to join it!

When Noel is asked to begin working from home he's quick to say yes. More time with his three children? How could he not? Meanwhile Caroline is considering starting a new job. How amazing would it be to hit goals and targets and have people actually thank you for a change? And when she receives an offer from the failing Eden Street box company, an organisation in chaos, she's ready to change the world!

But is an organisation brimming with employees who are tired, disillusioned and waiting to be let go what she really needs? And can Noel work from a chaotic home with three children, an obsessed work colleague and a disillusioned mother ready to thwart his plans at every turn?

Join Caroline and Noel as we return to Riverside to see if everyday changes can guide a relationship back to solid ground or if they'll further tear it apart!

For fans of Fiona Gibson, Christie Barlow and Tracy Bloom this is a laugh out loud comedy you won't want to miss!

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09HP376ZX

Germany - https://www.amazon.de/Anything-You-Can-Do-Riverside-ebook/dp/B09HP376ZX

AU - https://www.amazon.com.au/Anything-You-Can-Do-Riverside-ebook/dp/B09HP376ZX

US - https://www.amazon.com/Anything-You-Can-Do-Riverside-ebook/dp/B09HP376ZX

Hi Readers, I’m Berni and I’m a rom-commer!

My start: Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and the entire contents of our local library, then Sweet Valley High, Point Horror, Babysitters Club and The Saddle Club before drifting into adulthood where I found Jenny Colgan, Marian Keyes, Patricia Cornwall, Stephen King and John Grisham.

I am now an absolute chick lit, rom com, and thriller addict and former book blogger (you might know me from B R Maycock’s book blog).

My goal is always to give someone something they can settle down with for a bit of escapism and a laugh with small town series, ‘mom lit’ books and sparkly standalones.

Then there’s the official line...

B R Maycock (Berni to all you lovely people!) writes romantic comedies that are warm, sparkly and fun. She can be found in Co. Westmeath, Ireland with her brilliantly out there husband, Keith, their four epic little men, and four cats She has one goal and that’s simply to make readers smile and/ or laugh (a splutter rates highest;)).

  Connect with me below on social media...

Website http://www.berniwrites.com

Blog https://brmaycock.com

Twitter (@BRMaycock)  – https://twitter.com/brmaycock

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/b-r-maycock

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14023632.B_R_Maycock

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BRMaycockWriter

Publication Day Push & Author Guest Post: Sherlock Holmes & the Singular Affair by M.K. Wiseman

Sherlock Holmes & the Singular Affair by M.K. Wiseman

GUEST POST

M. K. Wiseman and the Adventure of the Researching Author

Back when I used to be able to write at my local coffee shop—seems like twenty years rather than two—the owner and baristas used to chat me up from time to time. In doing so, I’d break off from what I was doing, look up with, what I am sure was, a confused dullness to my eyes before reorienting myself to the present. This would prompt a laugh and a “What century and city are we in today, M. K.?”

The question is merited. I’ve dozens of digitized books contemporaneous to the eras in which I have been writing my more recent stories. I frequently park my web browser in two newspaper databases. And let’s not even get me started on my love of old maps. ;)

But I digress. Or is it that I preface? For here are a few bits and bobs of Real History that made it into Sherlock Holmes & the Singular Affair.

The story itself began with a discovery that a comedic play entitled “Crutch and Toothpick” took London by storm in 1879. As the unchronicled case which I was setting out to write took place in the pre-Watson days (that is to say, pre- January 1881), this suggested a nice direction for the story.

Crafting my mystery and centering it on these social-climbing men-about-town took me—took Sherlock—into plays, theatre, sporting events. Thus, if Mr. Ormond Secker (Holmes in disguise) attends the Handel Festival at Crystal Palace or the Henley Regatta, readers may rest assured that his calendar and route have been accounted for. (Fun thing for those who like to do a bit of Google-ing: There are audio recordings of the 1888 Handel Festival that really capture the haunting beauty of the event.)

But not all can be dandies and dining out. Charles Booth’s Maps Descriptive of London Poverty helped me center various characters lodgings in appropriate corners of London. (Resource available online here: https://booth.lse.ac.uk) A digitized copy of Bradshaw’s (a contemporaneous railway and steam guide) sat as constant companion to me during Holmes’ repeated trips into the countryside and, upon his arrival outside of Holt, I myself took a walk from there to the home of Miss Clarke’s cousin via Google’s ‘street view’ function. (I even cued up some sound-effects for my little journey, such atmospherics taking on new importance during Covid lockdowns.)

Of the five books I have had Mr. Bernard Faricy narrate, four have included historically and/or regionally accurate songs. In my pastiche from last year, I made Mr. Sherlock Holmes sing, providing a bit of welcome levity within an otherwise bleak tale. This time the temptation to have the great detective attend a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance proved too much to resist. And it fit my dates so very handily. Though the audio book has yet to hit shelves, readers will soon be able to hear how that scene plays out.

And last, but not least, I spent an inordinate amount of time looking into the Reading Room of the British Museum so that I might know how the desks were set up, how one went about requesting and viewing materials, etc. Admittedly, I stayed longer on this topic that I might have, but, in my defense, I had to once my poking about led me to a Twitter post wherein images of Conan Doyle’s own application and subsequent ticket were shared [https://twitter.com/britishmuseum/status/998860546739965952?s=20]. I suppose that I’ve not been too far afield, then, with my obsessive and minutea-driven discoveries whilst I wrote. At the least I remain in very good company.

BLURB

Before Baker Street, there was Montague.

Before partnership with a former army doctor recently returned from Afghanistan, Sherlock Holmes had but the quiet company of his own great intellect. Solitary he might be but, living as he did for the thrill of the chase, it was enough.

For a little while, at the least, it was enough.

That is, until a client arrives at his door with a desperate plea and an invitation into a world of societal scandal and stage door dandies. Thrust deep in an all-consuming role and charged with the safe-keeping of another, Holmes must own to his limits or risk danger to others besides himself in this the case of the aluminium crutch.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09DXQVT56/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DXQVT56/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sherlock-holmes-the-singular-affair-m-k-wiseman/1140115651?ean=9781734464146

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sherlock-holmes-the-singular-affair

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/sherlock-holmes-amp-the-singular-affair/id1583511548

AUTHOR BIO

M. K. Wiseman has degrees in Interarts & Technology and Library & Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her office, therefore, is a curious mix of storyboards and reference materials. Both help immensely in the writing of historical novels. She currently resides in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

http://mkwisemanauthor.com

https://twitter.com/FaublesFables

https://www.facebook.com/FaublesFables/

https://www.instagram.com/faublesfables/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7073540.M_K_Wiseman

Book Blog Tour Stop With Author Guest Post: The Custard Corpses by M.J. Porter

AUTHOR GUEST POST

The Inspiration for writing The Custard Corpses

I think most writers will admit to having had a ‘lockdown’ book. The Custard Corpses was mine. But even so, the inspiration behind The Custard Corpses was a bit weird. It was based on a series of advertisements that ran in the Picture Post magazines in the 1940s and 1950s for Birds Custard.

The advertisements are bright, inviting, they are, to put it bluntly, before their time. They have lovely catchphrases, such as ‘every little helps’ which a well-known supermarket chain in the UK uses now. The black and white images on the coloured background ensure the readers eye is drawn to the happy child, and they do make you want to eat custard. I wanted to share them with as many people as possible so that they could catch a glimpse of these old campaigns. But how could I share them?

Well, my mind works in strange ways, and I began to consider a mystery that would somehow be relevant to the advertisements, so it needed to be set during the period the Picture Post magazine was produced from 1938 to the 1950s. And so, The Custard Corpses.

I set The Custard Corpses during the Second World War, but that was really because it fit with the adverts I’d seen, the added bonus that I could then use the well-known events of the war was a secondary consideration.

Where I set the book was entirely based on the fact that I had family members who’d lived in Erdington at the time. I was able to pick the brains of my Dad for the little details that I didn’t know or couldn’t remember, not that he was born in 1943, but not long after.

It was all quite random, in the end, and there was a swell of little details that I uncovered that just, through pure happenstance, fitted together. It helped that I wanted to try my hand at something more modern than the eleventh century, but still historical. But I’m not an expert on any other time period, so I suppose it was an easy choice to decide on a setting that was just within living memory of some. I couldn’t visit anywhere due to Lockdown, so familiar was best, and using maps of the time period really helped me get a feeling for the location.

I asked my cover designer to create something that was similar to the adverts, but also different because I didn’t want to get into copyright issues. I also decided to use yellow for the main cover image so that it was like custard.

Is this the weirdest reason to have written a book? I am curious to know.

The Custard Corpses, a delicious 1940s mystery.

BLURB

Birmingham, England, 1943.

While the whine of the air raid sirens might no longer be rousing him from bed every night, a two-decade-old unsolved murder case will ensure that Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is about to suffer more sleepless nights.

Young Robert McFarlane’s body was found outside the local church hall on 30th September 1923. But, his cause of death was drowning, and he’d been missing for three days before his body was found. No one was ever arrested for the crime. No answers could ever be given to the grieving family. The unsolved case has haunted Mason ever since.

But, the chance discovery of another victim, with worrying parallels, sets Mason, and his constable, O’Rourke, on a journey that will take them back over twenty-five years, the chance to finally solve the case, while all around them the uncertainty of war continues, impossible to ignore.

PURCHASE LINK

mybook.to/TheCustardCorpses

AUTHOR BIO

I'm an author of historical fiction (Early English, Vikings and the British Isles as a whole before the Norman Conquest) and fantasy (Viking age/dragon-themed). I’ve recently written a relatively modern mystery novel set in 1943. I was born in the old Mercian kingdom at some point since 1066. Raised in the shadow of a strange little building, told from a very young age that it housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia and that our garden was littered with old pieces of pottery from a long-ago battle, it's little wonder that my curiosity in Early England ran riot. I can only blame my parents!

I write A LOT. You've been warned!

Find me at www.mjporterauthor.com and @coloursofunison on twitter.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

https://twitter.com/coloursofunison

https://www.instagram.com/m_j_porter/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163404.M_J_Porter

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/coloursofunison/_saved/

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