Thursday 29 August 2019

Book Birthday Blitz & Excerpt: A Wedding in Cornwall by Laura Briggs



A Wedding in Cornwall by Laura Briggs

It’s the career move of a lifetime, and Julianne can’t believe it’s hers: a position as an event planner at a country house in Cornwall, England, beginning with the wedding of a celebrity! If her old firm's senior planner back in the States hadn't fallen suddenly sick with the chicken pox, Julianne would never have found herself chosen for a life in one of England's most beautiful coastal counties, surrounded by rugged shores, quaint cottages, elegant gardens and a house to die for.

But life in Cornwall isn't exactly as Julianne imagined it. Her first bride-to-be is a resentful, petted snob, the groom is immature and bored, and the Cornish staff of Cliffs House has a difficult time believing that an event planner from a mid-level position can handle a wedding this big. And then there's a personal matter -- the handsome, sometimes charming, sometimes standoffish gardener Matthew Rose. He and Julianne have a strangely complicated relationship somewhere between friendship and attraction. But with a secret in his past, and a scheming bridesmaid plotting to have Matthew all to herself, will Julianne find a way to untangle her feelings and the problems of planning a perfect Cornish wedding?
Extract from A Wedding in Cornwall:
Thanks so much to Ellesea for letting me share with her readers as part of my book’s third birthday celebration! The first in a series of novellas about American event planner Julianne’s adventures ‘across the pond’, A Wedding in Cornwall includes an idyllic Cornish village, a beautiful manor house, and a gardener named Matthew who bears an uncanny resemblance to modern television’s Ross Poldark. In the following scene, Matthew and Julianne have just spent the day visiting The Lost Gardens of Heligan and are on their way back to the manor house when they decide to take a little detour.
I was feeling energized, not tired, even though the day had been a long one. I was a little disappointed when the road sign for Ceffylgwyn came into view through the windscreen. Maybe Matt sensed this, because he cleared his throat and looked at me.
"Would you like to see my home?" he asked. "Before I drive you back to the country house?"
"Of course I would," I answered. These past couple of weeks, I had been curious to know more about Matthew's 'reclusive hole' after listening to Gemma and Pippa's remarks. It could be anything from a shack in the woods to a crumbling gothic carriage house, I felt.
But it was none of these things. Matt turned onto a sleepy side street in the village, then parked outside a battered picket gate and fence surrounding a two story cottage covered in white lime wash aged grey in places from the wind, and a slate roof with grey-painted shutters bordering each of its windows. On the lower story, window boxes tumbled forth vinca and pea vines, covered in small summer flowers, while upstairs, I could see a chimney, oddly painted red, peeking from behind the house.
I was struck speechless for a moment, as I had been outside Cliffs House. This was a completely different world, this tiny cottage compared to Cliffs House's size and stateliness ... but there was something enchanting about it. Like something special was hidden in those walls, in the red chimney and the most crookedly-hung shutter on the second floor.
Of course, there were gardens — and maybe that was the source of the magic, Matthew's talent and dedication come to life. They wrapped around the whole cottage, tangled and wild, with plants almost as tall as me, and some so small and delicate they barely brushed against the toes of my shoes. Foxglove, hollyhocks, snapdragons, and delphiniums, mixed with asters and heaths, and tufts of the delicate lady's smock he had sent me, alongside tiny Cornish daisies.
I recognized a lot of these from a website on Cornish flowers I had visited, trying to learn more after accidentally trampling an endangered variety. Even without flowers, I could now spot familiar leaves among some of them, enough to guess what native and domestic flowers Matthew cultivated.
"There's a hothouse behind the cottage," he said, closing the rickety white gate behind us. "I had hoped for a place with a conservatory, but when I couldn't find one affordable, I simply built a greenhouse myself. There's a path along the side of the house — the right one, where the ivy is climbing up."
"The roses you sent me —" I began.
"I grew them," he said. "The roses are in the hothouse. A few antique climbers have the trellis back there ... but most of what you see around you does what it wants. I just helped it along a little."
Inside, the old parlor was furnished with mismatched things, both modern and antique, most of them looking as if they'd been rescued from junk shops or from abandonment on the curb as rubbish. Stuffing popped out of the arms of an old, comfortable club chair, while an antique dining one served as a makeshift side table next to one of Matt's many crowded bookshelves.
"This is my home," he said, pulling open a pair of worn plaid curtains covering the windows — Cornish tartan, I couldn't help but notice. "Where I spend what little time I'm not outdoors."
"You read a lot of books," I said, picking up one from the chair. A volume of poetry, one of English myths. "A folklore fan?" I held up the copy of Cornish Tales and Legends as I spoke.
"I'm a fan of local culture," he said. "And I don't do much reading, really. The books are deceptive." He smiled.
"Here's one in Cornish. You can read Cornish, too, can't you?" I said. "As well as you speak it?"
"If by that you mean 'not well,' then certainly," he said. He took the book from my hand and flipped through it, glancing at its pages as if trying to remember where he'd found it before. "I know a little, of course. The name of the house I could guess, for instance, based on a crude vocabulary of Cornish I've learned over time."
"The name of the gardens today?" I asked.
"Lowarth means 'garden,'" he said. "Heligan's from the Cornish word for 'willow tree.'"
"Willow Tree Gardens," I said. "I like it." I looked out the window, where the late afternoon sunshine played across the petals and leaves in the window boxes. "So what's the name of your garden?"
"It doesn't have a name," he said. "But the cottage is called Rosemoor."

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.



Giveaway to Win one of 4 Fabulous A Wedding in Cornwall Prizes (Open Internationally)
1st Prize: A Demelza collectable Knitdark character doll (Open Internationally) - 1 winner
A wonderful keepsake for fans of all-things Poldark, this Demelza doll was made by Angela Blay, whose popular Knitdark creations have been featured on The Graham Norton Show. You can learn more about the Knitdarks at Angela's Twitter page @kwerkyknits as well as her Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/kwerkyknits

2nd Prize A Kindle/Tablet case featuring cover art from the series A Wedding in Cornwall (Open Internationally) - 1 winner

A specially designed case for a Kindle or Tablet featuring cover art from the series A Wedding in Cornwall. The final product's size, image, texture, and colour will depend on the winner's device.








3rd Prize: A Paperback Copy of A Wedding in Cornwall: Books 1-6 (Open Internationally) - 1 winner

This winning paperback (non-signed) contains the novellas A Wedding in CornwallA Christmas in CornwallA Cottage in CornwallA Manor in CornwallA Bake Off in Cornwall, and A Castle in Cornwall.




4th Prize: A Paperback Copy of A Wedding in Cornwall: Books 7-12 (Open Internationally) - 1 winner

This winning paperback (non-signed) contains the novellas A Romance in CornwallA Star in CornwallA Sewing Circle in CornwallA Talent Show in CornwallAn American in Cornwall, and A Garden in Cornwall.






*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 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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