Blog Tour for Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm - Q & A with the lovely Miss Rebecca Raisin

On this slightly overcast Friday afternoon, I had the chance to interview a great friend, Rebecca Raisin!  You all know Rebecca from her amazing stories, here are a few:

And...

As well as...

Just to show a few of the many!

Rebecca, Thank You so much for taking some time out of your crazy schedule to meet with me today!  I am so overjoyed to be able to interview you for my new blog, One Book At A Time!  Welcome!  Let me begin by saying congrats on your newest publication, Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm!

Rebecca, I would like to begin this afternoon by asking, where did your inspiration for Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm come from?  Any specific stars you could see cast as the characters for the book in a movie adaptation?  

I was chatting to a guy who has read all the books set in Ashford, and he googled earthed the real town of Ashford! It’s spacious, and full of rolling meadows and farms, so I thought maybe a story set on the outskirts of town might work! My first thought was maple syrup, and when I researched how the trees were tapped, and how romantic it would be in that lovely snowy weather I was hooked!

For the main characters I instantly pictured a broody Channing Tatum for Clay, and for Lucy, I thought of Jennifer Lawrence! 

I'm sure there is a new book in the works, any details you would like to share with your readers?

I’m almost finished writing The Little Bookshop on the Seine, which is part of the upcoming Little Paris Collection! If you’ve read The Bookshop on the Corner, you’ll recognise Sarah, who is offered a bookshop exchange! It’s been so much fun writing about Paris! 

I would love to learn more about Rebecca now!  When you are not writing, what do you enjoy doing for fun alone?  With the kids?

Thank you! When I write, I write in my office, in silence! I have frequent breaks for social media, and Buzzfeed posts. I’m a huge reader, so if I’m not at the computer, I’m snuggled with a book. With my rambunctious boys, we usually draw, watch movies, or if its summer we head to the beach. It’s winter here at the moment, so we’ve been stuck inside, baking, reading, and making a huge amount of mess.

Are there any exciting trips that you have taken? Want to take in the future?  Is this where you get inspiration for so many of your books, from you travels?

We went to the UK, France, and Italy in one mammoth holiday in March! It was so much fun, and I am desperate to get back. I have plotted out the next six stories (which seems crazy!) and they were a reason I visited certain places. We’re trying to plan the next holiday, and as much as I’d love to go back to the UK, we may be going somewhere a little warmer.

I’m always inspired by a new place, even if it’s just a café down the road. There’s nothing better than soaking up the atmosphere and people watching, and okay…eavesdropping!

Lastly, when you look at the process of writing a book from beginning to end, what do you enjoy the most?  What do you enjoy the least? 

I love the shiny new idea, and the spark of enthusiasm and the way the beginning seems to write itself! Half-way through it becomes a slog, and I just keep going and push all the doubt away, promising myself I can edit slowly. Once the first rough draft is done, and I get structural edits back, that’s probably when I have the most fun. I really enjoy adding layers to it, and polishing it, with the extra comments from my editor, with her fresh perspective!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!

Have a lovely day! xxx

Rebecca,  THANK YOU so much for visiting One Book At A Time this afternoon!  I had an fun time catching up with you and helping your readers learn more about the woman behind these amazing books!  I look forward to hearing more details about your next book when we chat more!  You will have to stop by and fill my readers in as well!!

 You can find Rebecca at the following links:

Twitter  

Facebook 

Amazon 

Blog  

Goodreads 

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEKEND FRIENDS!!!

Bethany 

 

Cinderella's Enchanted Night by Amber Daulton

SUMMARY
Annalise Gallagher wanted Elijah Burleigh. Plain and simple. She’d watched him from afar for months, her friends called her ‘his own personal stalker’, and then she made a wish on a magic pendant for a full-body makeover. Transformed into the gorgeous knockout she’d always wanted to be, she asked Elijah out on a date and wore a haute couture gown straight from Paris to his friend’s wedding.
With just twenty-four hours on the clock, her enchanted night faded into the morning hours and everything crashed down around her. Annalise harbored a shameful secret and Elijah demanded the truth with the veil of magic gone.
The truth, however, could destroy her fragile confidence and push him away forever.

MY REVIEW
I enjoyed this modern dale fairytale from beginning to end.  Annalise can really be compared to you or me, she is concerned with body image, has a scare she would rather get rid of then remember the details and wants to fall in love with her Prince Charming and live happily ever after.

She thinks that she has found that specific man at a gallery near by and tries to see him each and every day - attends his tours, watches him leave at night (only slightly stalker-ish - I wouldn't recommend this behavior ladies!) and day dreams about their life together.

Then one day Annalise and her friends have the chance to wish on a pendant and their lives unfold from there - Annalise is transformed into Cinderella for a night, will her dreams become a reality?  What happens at midnight? 

Will 24 hours and a little fairy dust change her life forever?  Will she live happily ever after?


WINE SELECTION 
What better to go with this enchanted fairytale, then a little bit for Once Upon a Vine!  Positively divine!

My Rating 
I give this sweet and sexy fairytale 4 glasses of wine - I enjoyed this tale from beginning to end as well as the wine!   

 

Q & A with Tess Woods, author of Love at First Flight

On this sunny and HOT Monday morning here in western New York, I have the pleasure of talking to Tess Woods, the author of the amazing book, Love at First Flight!

Tess, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me at One Book At A Time today so myself and your readers can get to know you a little bit better!

Tess, I would love to begin by asking,  what made you want to write your first book? Was it an easy process for you? How did you overcome any writers block?It wasn’t so much wanting to write a book than needing to! My characters came to me and their voices were so loud in my head telling their stories that either I wrote a book about these people or went completely insane! Writing the first draft was incredibly easy, it just flowed out. It was the years of rewrites and editing that were really difficult. I overcame writer’s block by writing anyway. If I committed to write on a certain day, I wrote, whether I was inspired or not. It didn’t matter if what I wrote was rubbish, I wrote it anyway just to keep writing and then went in and fixed it up later. I read a great quote that said “the only thing that can’t be fixed is a blank page.”

If Love At First Flight could be made into a movie, who would you cast to play the roles?
I have two Aussies picked for Mel and Adam – Rose Byrne and Hugh Jackman and even though he isn’t Australian, I can’t think of a better Matt than Orlando Bloom. 

I see your next book, Flat White With One, is in the works, can you give your readers some insight into what it may be about?
I’d love to give you a little insight! Flat White With One is about Nick Harding, who in Love at First Flight is Mel’s teenage son. Nick is now twenty-two years old, the most popular Australian footballer, a hero to millions fans across the whole country and a celebrated playboy. But he has a secret powerful enough to destroy his career. Nick is holding onto this secret when he meets Anna Hayati, a young, innocent Egyptian immigrant from a very religious and conservative family in a café where she serves him coffee. (A-ha! The title of the story!) Anna also has deep dark secrets from her tragic past. Together, Nick and Anna fall deeply in love. Anna is anything but the typical footballer’s glamorous-gossip-column-worthy girlfriend and the famous womaniser Nick is not exactly what Anna’s traditional family had in mind for her either. Flat White With One explores what happens with two people who are clearly not meant to be are also meant to be.

I’m very excited to be creating a brand new story and although I have some idea where the story will go, it has already taken some unexpected twists and turns so who knows where it will end up! I’ve fallen madly in love with Nick and Anna and I hope when you read about them next year, you will too!

When your writing, do you have any specific mind set you need to be in? A special place that you like to write that really gets you in the zone?

Yes, I need to be winding down at the end of the day with nothing else left to do in order to be able to focus on my writing. My favorite spot is snuggled up in bed. I’ve tried to be bohemian and trendy and take my laptop to hipster cafes to write, but I am just too distractable and get nothing done. I need to be tucked up in bed, late at night, hubby snoring peacefully next to me and that’s where I do my best work.

Lastly,  when you are not writing, what do you enjoy doing? Traveling? Shopping?
Yes and yes! We travel a lot as a family. In fact as I write this, we are on holiday in beautiful Tasmania, a place that has inspired me to write about it! We have twice pulled our children out of school for three months and then two months to travel. First we toured around Australia with them and last year we toured Europe. We figure that the school work they have missed, they have more than made up for in seeing the world! And yes I LOVE to shop! I need an intervention!! My other hobbies are knitting, gardening and my biggest love is reading. 

Tess, THANK YOU so much for visiting One Book At A Time this morning!  I had an amazing time catching up with you and helping your readers learn more about the woman behind the book!  I look forward to hearing more details about your next book when we chat more!  You will have to stop by and fill my readers in as well!!
 


You can find Tess at the following links:

Blog  
Amazon  
Facebook 


 HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK FRIENDS!

Bethany 























 

RELEASE BLITZ - Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm - OUT TODAY!!!

Author Bio:

Rebecca Raisin is a true bibliophile. This love of books morphed into the desire to write them. She's been published in various short story anthologies and in in fiction magazines, and is now focusing on writing romance.

Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships, and most importantly believe in true love.

Come and say hello to Rebecca on her Facebook page : https://facebook.com/RebeccaRaisinAuthor or @jaxandwillsmum on Twitter.

 Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm – Rebecca Raisin
Extract

The Maple Syrup Farm was, at best, a ramshackle mess. The front gate hung off its latch, creaking in the wind, pitching backward and forward like an invitation to enter. In the distance you could make out the cottage. Gnarly old vines twisted around porch posts as though they were slowly strangling them. Cottage windows were smashed, leaving only dirty shards of glass clinging to their perches. Mountains of junk had been abandoned across the land for so long that grass had grown over them. Odd sticks of wood protruded like arms in supplication. The decaying façade of the place was somehow compelling rather than confronting.
Behind the gate, the property spanned for miles. Long snow-dotted grass swayed like green ribbons and grew into everything, wild and free. Even down the graveled driveway the grass had crept over like it was intent on taking over, burying the vestiges of ground.
I pushed the creaky gate open and walked purposefully, convincingly, like I’d been on a million farms before and knew what to do. As I neared the cottage music blared from inside. I stepped onto the porch. It was rotted in places, worm-wooded. I covered my ears against the noise as I dodged holes and hoped to God I made it inside without tumbling into trouble in my boots.
Whoever was inside the small cottage was belting out lyrics to “Pony” by Ginuwine like he was the only person in the world. Clay? I couldn’t really see an old farmer type listening to such provocative music, but it took all kinds to make a world, as my mom was keen on saying.
With a quick rap on the door, I set my shoulders, pulled my coat tighter and waited. No answer. There was no way he’d hear me with the volume up so high. With a shrug, I opened the front door, and stuck my head inside.
My mouth hung open at the sight before me. Clay was not old. Not weathered. Not wearing overalls.
He stood all six foot something of him, on the top rung of a stepladder, wearing only tight denim jeans, holding a drill. His broad shoulders moved to the beat of the music, his biceps flexing in time. As he turned and leaned I caught sight of his sculpted abs, the grooves and valleys of them, the color of his skin, tanned somehow in wintertime. He was the epitome of the perfect male model. I imagined him nude, and wanted to paint him in explicit detail because it would make such a stunning portrait.
The tight denim jeans accented his butt, and he thrust his hips to the rhythm of the song. That kind of taut, strong body would be a joy to paint. Just watching him made me uncomfortably warm. I had been wanting to capture a man on canvas, their intense lines and lengths, especially one as chiseled as this.
He flicked his dark blond hair back, and turned suddenly, one hand grasping the top rung of the ladder. When he caught sight of me the singing and, sadly, the thrusting stopped abruptly.
I walked to the stereo to turn the music down, before saying, “Hi, nice drill you have there.” Nice drill you have there? I promptly closed my mouth, and hoped my brain would catch up with my voice. In my effort to come across convincing, like I knew what a drill was, I sounded like I was flirting. Or just plain stupid. “What I meant was—”
His expression darkened and he spoke over the top of me. “You lost?”
I tilted my head, confused at the hostility in his voice. “No.” I appraised him—a hot guy with a bad attitude. I’d been expecting to see a middle-aged guy wearing overalls, not someone half-dressed, and mesmerizing from a painting point of view. The fierceness in his eyes—would I capture it?
He jumped down from the ladder, a fine sheen of sweat glistening on his abs. From a sofa covered with plastic, he snatched up a crumpled tank top and pulled it over his head.
“No need to get dressed on my account.” I resisted the urge to clap a hand over mouth. “What I mean is, just be as you were…” The words were coming out wrong, in my effort to be someone I was not.
I blushed.
He scowled.
“Can I help you?” He let the drill drop, the cord slipping slowly through his fingers—he didn’t take his eyes off me, before it hit the ground with a clunk. For some reason the gesture seemed highly erotic. But the steely glint in his eyes told a different story.
Thoughts of traipsing back down the driveway, jobless, flashed through my mind. “I’m here about the job.” I raised my chin.
His face cracked into a cynical smile. He snatched a rag from the coffee table and wiped his brow, all the while chuckling to himself. I held his stare, while he gave me a once-over. His eyes were a mesmerizing, deep, dark brown, almost fathomless. I should have changed my outfit before I set off. He couldn’t take me seriously for the job, looking like some kind of bohemian.
“A job?” His mouth twisted. “I don’t think so.” His gaze traveled the length of my body once more and I tried hard not to squirm.
“And why not?” I asked, remembering Becca’s word of warning. Do not take no for an answer.
He sneered. “Do you even know what the job is?”
“Farming, or a farmer, or a farmer’s assistant. Who cares about the title? All you need to know is, I am more than capable of…farming.” Way to go, Lucy, I silently berated myself. Say farmer one more time. He had me on edge with his cool stare. I hoped the desperation wasn’t evident in my voice.
“Who sent you here?”
I tried to hide my smile at his phrasing—it was almost like a line out of a mafia movie. Was this guy for real? “Your cousin Becca. She said you can’t find anyone else.” And now I see why. If I wasn’t so desperate for a job I would have told him exactly what I thought of him and breezed out. But there was also a stubborn side of me that wanted to show him he was wrong about me. I could…farm, as well as anyone else.
He raised an eyebrow. “You think I can’t find anyone?”
“I don’t see people lining up to work for you.” He blanched. If it was a tug of war, I’d just retrieved a bit of the rope. “But I am perfectly able to do the work.”
“Is that so?”
“Sure is.” I pursed my lips.
He took two steps toward me and stood so close I could feel his breath on my face. My pulse quickened—for one second I thought he was going to kiss me. He said, “You think you can handle it?”

For those of you that love Ashford as much as I do, reading all of Rebecca's previous stories, here's a map to enjoy!

Stay tuned for more on July 27th, my day of the AMAZING Blog Tour for Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm!

Here are some links of interest!
Amazon UK
Amazon US 
Amazon Australia
iBooks
Kobo
Goodreads
Facebook
Blog
Twitter

The Girl's Guide to Getting Hitched by author Sophie Hart

SUMMARY
Rule number one: Keep calm and marry on…

When new mum and events planner Julia Crawford is given the opportunity to plan three weddings, she jumps at the chance. What could possibly go wrong? …

Forget bridezilla, Aimee’s future mother-in-law is the stuff of nightmares – hell bent on taking over the wedding entirely. Worse still, her fiancé, Jon, seems oblivious. Aimee’s starting to wonder if she and her groom-to-be are right for each other after all…

Body shy Debbie is on a mission. She’s determined to shed a lot of pounds before the big day. As the wedding inches closer, will the new Debbie lose sight of what’s really important?

Gill loves Mike and their blended family of five kids to bits, but with a house full of teenage hormones and her eldest, Kelly, struggling with so much change, Gill is feeling the pressure...

As the women bond over cake and a cuppa, can they each resolve their wedding woes before the big day?

An uplifting, warm-hearted read packed with love, laughter and friendship. If you’re a fan of Jill Mansell, Milly Johnson or Lucy Diamond you’re in for a real treat.

MY REVIEW 
Four amazing ladies - Julia, Aimee, Gill and Debbie - are so similar yet so different in many way.  Their individual stories had me laughing, near tears and yelling at my reader!
 
Julia is married with a precious little boy and a husband that loves her more than anything in this world but she is worried that her marriage isn't what it used to be.  Does Nick love her? Yes.  Does Nick feel a bond with their son?  She is worried that he may not be bonding the way she believes he should and it is making her angry on several occasion.

What will happen to her marriage? He family? Her happiness?  Can she truly do her job as a wedding planner and be happy for her clients when she is questioning her marriage and family life?

Aimee - where do I begin with this poor sweet girl.  I truly felt for her when her story began to unfold.  I would have to say that I was getting very upset SEVERAL times when this piece was developing in front of my eyes.  Will she and Jon make it to the alter?  Will she become an English teacher as she had always dreamed?  What will happen to this sweet, naive girl?
 
Debbie has had issues with her weight and self confidence from the time we meet her.  She wants to drop several sizes, she wants to look perfect for her fiancé, but when will she realize that she has always been prefect for her future husband?  Will it be before it's too late?  Does her extreme dieting end her walk down the isle?
 
Gill is getting married for the second time to Mike and amazing man that loves her and accepts her for who she is.  They are attempting to blend twp families together, and for those of us who have tried in the past (or present) know this is never easy.  Will her teenager Kelly stop the wedding before it begins?  Will Mike and Gill decide that blending their families may not work and go their own ways?

From beginning to end you fall in love with each of these stories and Sophie does an AMAZING job bringing you into the good and the bad of each story.  You not want to put this story down!

You will be drawn in by amazing characters that you can relate to, intricate details in Sophie's storytelling and a truly heart-warming story that will have you believe in happily ever after, even if it's not exactly how Disney makes us all picture it!

WINE SELECTION 
Typically I would be sharing my wine selection with my fans today, instead I would love to celebrate Sophie's book with a little bubbly instead!  I found the perfect selection for these girls in France, several bottles for several occasions!

MY RATING  
For these AMAZING and STRONG women- 5 glasses of bubbly ( I never wanted the story to end or the bubbly for that matter!)

Secrets at Maple Syrup Farm by Rebecca Raisin

SUMMARY 
Secrets...we all have them.

Clay’s inheritance of Maple Syrup Farm came at the perfect time. Leaving city life behind he headed for maple-tree surrounded Ashford, Connecticut. Getting the farm in working order again might be back breaking work – but it seems to be the only way for Clay to finally forget about the girl who once broke his heart…

Lucy’s had enough of rules and the stress of planning her life down to the very last detail. Looking for an adventure she stumbles upon Maple Syrup Farm and its gorgeously gruff owner. This could be the perfect place to hide out…!

But the tranquillity and warmth of Maple Tree Farm is enough to heal even the most battered of hearts. There are very few problems in life that can’t be cheered up by maple syrup!

The new standalone novel from best-selling author of the Gingerbread Café trilogy and The Bookshop on the Corner, Rebecca Raisin. 

MY REVIEW
Magical, breathtaking details, and secrets around each corner...
I couldn't be more in love with Rebecca's new story! 
Clay is this heart throb who just wants to be left alone...
Lucy is taking a year to find herself, a request made by her mother who she has been taking care of.

They need each other more than they know at the time and magic is in the air for these two!

Lucy finds Ashford randomly during her travels and chooses to make it her home during this period in her life.
She meets some of my favorite characters for the Gingerbread series - Ceecee, Lil, Sarah and a handful of others!  Such a magical town to live in and Lucy is really starting to get attached and doesn't know what she will do at the end of her year, will she leave?  Stay?
Lucy and Clay first meet when she goes to the farm in search of a job.  Farm assistant, why not?  She is worked to the bone day in and day out and becomes closer to Clay then she ever dreamed.

As time goes on she decides to take a trip to Paris - will this be the trip of a lifetime for the budding artist? Or will she give it up to stay in Ashford? Only time will tell and you need to read this amazing tale to learn more and fall in love with Maple Syrup Farm


WINE SELECTION 
A perfect wine to take you into the fall season, just the right amount of spice!

MY RATING 
 I would rate this magical story - 5 glasses of wine ( I never wanted the story to end or the wine for that matter!)

Q & A with Hilary Grossman, the Author of Dangled Carat

On this amazing Monday morning, I have the honor of interviewing Hilary Grossman!  She is the author of Dangled Carat.

Hilary, Thank You so much for taking some time to meet with me today!  I am so overjoyed to be able to interview you for my new blog, One Book At A Time!  Welcome!

Hilary, I would like to begin this morning by asking, when writing Dangled Carat, how did it feel to relive that life event?  Could you believe some of the events you let happened?  The years without a proposal, would you let that happen again if you could go back in time?
Writing Dangled Carat was a very surreal experience for me. Not only did I relive dating and trying to convert a commitment-phobic man into a husband, I also had to relive a lot of other difficult moments in my life.  For example, I wrote about my father passing away when I was fourteen years old and having to wear a back brace. But it was funny. As I wrote, I came to realize how each moment of my life shaped me into the person I now am as well as the person who stayed in this relationship.
I often cringe at some of the things I did and allowed to happen during this period of my life.  But who doesn’t?  I think if we are all honest with ourselves we’d all like to shake some sense into our younger selves.  I like to say that Dangled Carat is for every girl who has/had dating drama… Sure the things that happened to me are different, but we’ve all been there…
If I could go back in time I think I would have changed some things but not many. I think I needed this experience to shape me into who I now am….

You have mentioned just finishing book 2, can you give us a little description of what we have to look forward to?
Book two is completely different than Dangled Carat – it is 100% fiction
The book asks the question how well do you really know those closest to you…. It is about a mother and daughter whose relationship has been destroyed by secrets, lies and misplaced blame.  But despite their differences the daughter reluctantly agrees to help her mother plan a wedding.

I know you consider yourself a workaholic at your full-time job, what is your favorite way to relax after a long day?
I am a total workaholic at my FT job, as a CFO of a beverage alcohol company, which is as different from being an author as I could possibly be. :)

I’m pretty simple when it comes to relaxing after work. First I must take a shower and wash the day off of me.  Then I like to pour a glass of wine, turn up some music, and cook dinner with my husband while we catch up on our days. In the warm weather I like to stroll down to the beach after work as well.  Oh, and there is nothing more relaxing that snuggling my cat Lucy :)

For those who have not had the chance to "meet" Miss Lucy, here she is in all her glory! 

Looking into the future, is there a 3rd book in the works?
Yes, there is!  And I already started it although I didn’t get too far. I don’t write much in the summer.  (I catch up on my reading then)

Book three is a spinoff of number two and it asks the question would you abandon you present for your past?   

Lastly, if you could take a dream vacation, where would that be? 
One day I really want to go to Europe, especially Italy.  But my favorite vacations are beach trips. I love nothing more than hanging out on a beach, listening to the ocean, digging my feet into the sand while reading a good book.  So my dream vacation would be a month long trip of various Caribbean islands – but I’d have to fly to each one…. I have no desire to go on a cruise.
 

Hilary, THANK YOU so much for visiting One Book At A Time this morning!  I had an fun time catching up with you and helping your readers learn more about the woman behind the book!  I look forward to hearing more details about your next book when we chat more!  You will have to stop by and fill my readers in as well!!


You can find Hilary at the following links:

Facebook 
Pinterest 
Blog 
Amazon 
Twitter 




HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK FRIENDS!!!


                             BETHANY