Release Day Spotlight with Author Guest Post: A Train From Penzance to Paris by Laura Briggs

A Train From Penzance to Paris by Laura Briggs

Publication Date: 8th April 2020

Pens, Paper, and Paris in my Heroine’s Latest Adventure!

Thank you so much to Ellesea for letting me share with her readers about my newest book today! Titled A Train from Penzance to Paris it continues the adventures of Maisie Clark, an aspiring novelist who found herself on Cornish shores working as a chambermaid at a historic hotel. Surrounded by quirky co-workers, eccentric guests, and a charming yet somewhat mysterious love interest, Maisie is living out adventures she could only have dreamed of penning in a manuscript’s pages before—even though all that excitement does rather distract from her efforts to become a novelist at times.

As an author, I’ve always had a soft spot for stories that feature different aspects of the writer’s experience. Whether it’s the humorous kind (The Rewrite with Hugh Grant), the escapist kind (Romancing the Stone), or even the darkly comedic and suspenseful (Deathtrap, Sunset Boulevard) there’s something fascinating in the inspirations and insecurities of those who put pen to paper in crafting a story. So it really has been quite fun to explore that side of Maisie’s character a bit more in depth in this latest addition to the series, which finds her en route to Paris, her favorite novelist and would-be writing mentor at her side as she begins the next stage of the journey to becoming a successful author.

Plunged into the world of famous novelists and publishing professionals, Maisie is quickly overwhelmed. Does she really have the talent to rub shoulders with the same literary geniuses she’s admired as a reader? And what about her eager, would-be literary agent—can he really find a way to sell Maisie’s book? Or is all his talk about contracts and film rights just pie-in-the-sky notions?

Amid these questions and worries, Maisie all but stumbles her way into a random amateur writer’s circle. Their warm welcome and ongoing support become a critical part of Maisie’s writing journey and certainly an unexpected one. And then, of course, there’s Maisie’s writing mentor to guide her, the secretive and brilliant novelist Alistair Davies. Does Davies’ advice really hold the key to her future success—or has her dream somehow gotten off track on their journey from Port Hewer to Paris and London?

With her trusty travel journal at hand—and her pen busy composing many a letter and postcard to her friends back in Cornwall—there is much at stake for Maisie in this new adventure, and not just when it comes to getting her pages into print. There’s a matter of the heart involved, as fans of the series well know, with Maisie’s relationship with handsome village groundskeeper Sidney Daniels still up in the air following her abrupt departure from Port Hewer to Paris. And things may never be the same between them again...even if Maisie does somehow keep her promise to return to Cornwall, no matter what.

Follow Maisie’s journey by joining in the fun of A LITTLE HOTEL IN CORNWALL. Books one through five in the series are now available in eBook format, and book six is currently available for pre-order on Amazon!

https://smarturl.it/atrainfrompenzance

When Maisie accepts a celebrated author’s invitation to mentor her, she finds herself leaving Cornwall behind on train tracks bound for the glitter city of Paris. Instead of making beds and serving coffee at the Penmarrow hotel in Cornwall, she’s making notes on her manuscript while sitting in a French cafe, meeting famous writers at private dinner parties, and trying to ferret the secrets behind the author’s unfinished future novel.

It’s glamorous, it’s breathtaking … but it’s also an ocean channel away from the place that she loves, and, more importantly, the person to whom she just recently confessed her deepest feelings. Separated from Sidney by distance and circumstances, Maisie fears that their connection will be lost despite her words to him – and maybe because of those words, and the ones she didn’t allow him to say in return.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of things in her new life trying to distract her – the professional editor hired to critique her novel, the eager young literary agent who sees pie-in-the-sky potential for Maisie’s talent, but Maisie finds solace in the eclectic group of amateur writers into whose midst she finds herself by accident. Their critique and advice is fast becoming as important as the editors – maybe even more important than the published author Maisie believed held the keys to refining her skill.

But it’s missing Sidney that fills Maisie’s thoughts the most, along with her life back in Port Hewer, and she can’t stop wondering whether his feelings are the same as her own. His unspoken answer has become one of the most important pieces of her life, even as she struggles to match the pace of her new life and keep her dreams in sight. And when she unwittingly becomes privy to a seeming literary conspiracy, she must decide what to do in light of its truth – and decide what’s most important in her quest to become a professional writer.

Join Maisie in a whirlwind tour across two of the world’s greatest cities, filled with questions, dreams, and a chance for fame that she believed far beyond her grasp, as she discovers herself as a writer, and how to embrace an unexpected future on her own terms.

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.

https://www.facebook.com/authorlaurabriggs/

https://twitter.com/PaperDollWrites

New Release Spotlight & Review: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.

On a summer’s day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker’s son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

Sixteen-century history is an era I've tended to overlook when looking for historical novels to read, so I embraced the buzz around Hamnet. It's on the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist 2020.

This is novel about a famous playwright's son, Hamnet who died at eleven years old. Interestingly, the father's name is never mentioned. He's referred to as Agnes's husband, the glove-maker’s son, the Latin tutor… He's a fascinating secondary character but for me, the real star is Agnes (Anne Hathaway). Of all the character's she's the one, we get to know the most and what a fascinating woman she was.

Going back and forth, we're given glimpses of Agnes' life before she meets her husband. The life she shares with her brother Bartholomew, the volatile relationship with her step-mother and her "gift", which keeps her busy but labels her as someone to stay away from. Meeting the Latin tutor who teaches her step-brothers leads to a hasty marriage and a move away from the farm where she grew up. It's clear there's tension between her husband and his father. Her mother-in-law is an entirely different issue.
Even before Hamnet was born, Agnes is frustrated about the conflicting signs about the second child she's about to give birth to. Even more so, when she delivers twins, Hamnet and his sister Judith. She expected to have only two children, but now she has three. She knows one is likely to die, and that it will probably be Judith, the smaller, sickly one. It's not until the twins are eleven years old that one of them dies, except it, isn't the one anyone expected. 

The death of any child is heartbreaking and Agnes and her husband mirror the grief shared by other such parents. However, it's clear as a couple they offer no comfort to each other as each tries to go on with their lives as they did before tragedy struck. The time and distance isn't a healer as they drift apart. The playwright is now famous and busy with his theatre and visits rarely. Yet, his family are not forgotten as he uses his new wealth to buy them a large home unaware of how he's transferred his grief to his writing. That's until word reaches Agnes via her step-mother.

The novel starts slowly, setting the scene in Elizabethan Warwickshire. It's written in the style of the time and as I turned the pages I worried if I'm misjudged my choice. As I continued, the rewards begin to appear, lifting this intriguing story up to a new level as pockets of revealing insight are exposed. The narrative continues in this style until it gains momentum nearer to the conclusion. Overall, it's a story which creeps upon you, the effect lasting far longer than expected.

***arc generously received courtesy of the publisher Tinder Press via Random Things Tours***

Tinder Press     Amazon US     Amazon UK