GUEST POST: Carli Palmer

Carli Palmer, author of Down the Aisle with Bridezilla, is back with new book Shore House Slumming. In the novel, editor Dana finds herself facing new adventures (and pitfalls!) when she embarks on a new life in Florida after her happy life in Seattle goes awry.

Where would you go if you suddenly had to choose? Here's Carli's choice!

One free plane ticket…looks like I’m heading to Venice!

What if you received a free plane ticket to go anywhere in the world? Where would you go? After much pondering I decided that Venice is the city for me! Where else can you go where the atmosphere is romantic and adventurous at the same time all the while living on the sea? The streets become water, your car becomes a gondola, and your beverage of choice is a delicious espresso served in a tiny white porcelain cup accompanied by a buttery croissant with jam. I’d walk around in Piazza San Marco taking pictures, stroll over the bridges that crossed the canals, and view films at the Venice Film Festival. To me there is nothing more relaxing than sitting at an outdoor café’, reading a book, and listening to the lapping of water. What better place to do it than a city filled with mystery and intrigue? Who knows what’s lurking around the corner of a building’s foundation as you’re venturing down the waterways?

And the city at night? Don’t even get me started. It would take all my mind’s memory to capture the magic and romance that is the nighttime lights dancing down on the canals. Because it seems so cryptic and alluring is the reason I want to go besides exploring the entertainment (especially carnival and an opera at Teatro La Fenice) and the local food. A fantasy destination should be a place that draws you not something you book because you have to cross it off your bucket list. My fantasy city is just waiting for me to arrive.

Shore House Slumming by Carli Palmer

Working as an editor in Seattle, Dana Kline led a happy life. She had great friends, a career she adored, and her health couldn’t be better. But everything about it was mundane and safe. EVERYTHING. No gamble would have made her change her ways, so life was going to change it for her. After an unexpected release from her job and then finding out that she would become practically homeless for the summer, Dana gathered her courage and found herself ready to try a new life in Florida. The only problem was getting herself across the nation on a tight budget, hardly any connections, and an unadventurous self. After many stops along both coast lines Dana finds out that it’s okay to let her hair down, meet new people, and try new escapades. Just as long as her sanity doesn’t fly away with the seagulls.

UNCOVERED INTERVIEWS: Mary Jayne Baker

The Honey Trap by Mary Jayne Baker is released this week, in which a journalist is sent to do an expose on a famous, married movie director. Mary Jayne joins us this week to tell us more about the novel and the inspiration behind her writing.

Tell us about your latest novel in 15 words or less.
Romance blossoms between a journalist and the director she sets up. If Leveson did chicklit...

What inspired you to write The Honey Trap?
It was an ambition when I was younger, going back to schooldays even, that I could write a romantic novel, but after a couple of false starts I eventually lost confidence in my writing and abandoned the dream. Then a chance comment to my boss and his encouragement to give it another go made me decide to sit down and just do it, rather than regret it for the rest of my life. That was in October last year. Googling for writers' forums, I discovered the NaNoWriMo event just in time to take part. Their site turned out to be just what I needed to get over my confidence problems.

I'm not sure where the plot came from, except from wanting to write what I knew. I made Angel, the heroine, a journalist because I work in media in my day job, and I decided the hero, Seb, would be a talented film director because I just love film. In the story, Angel and Seb bond over a shared love of vintage movies, which are something I'm passionate about myself so I wanted them to share that.

Other elements of the plot came to me as I wrote - Seb's charity ReelKids, for example, which seemed to pop up out of nowhere. And then there's Groucho the cat, a fictional version of my cat Harpo in the hope he might stop pestering me if I let him be in the book (he didn't)!

One theme I really enjoyed exploring was press ethics, and Angel's struggle to make the right choices in her career. Her unprincipled boss Steve was probably my favourite character to write for, he's just so deliciously horrible.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I have quite a long commute so I do a lot on the train. I try to write 2000 words a day usually, although that doesn't always work out when day job deadlines loom. I write at home in the evenings often too, wearing my special writer's hat so my other half knows not to disturb!

What is your favourite book?
Wuthering Heights is my go-to book when I want cheering up - odd really as it's not a cheery book, but I love it so much. Plus it was written four miles from where I live, and us West Yorkshire lasses have to stick together...

I'm a big fan of Catch-22 as well, which I've read several times and am reading again at the moment. Harrowing but hilarious - not many books you can say that about!

Which part of The Honey Trap did you enjoy writing the most?
I loved writing the dialogue between characters. It was when they were talking I felt I really got to know them, and it gave them the chance to be quite witty too. I think my favourite parts were with Seb and Angel in the abandoned 1920s cinema he owns - lots of great dialogue where we find out more about them, and their classic film nights with a flirty twist were definitely wish fulfilment for me!

I thought I'd struggle with the more, er, racy scenes in the book (if my mum's reading, it's just tea and cake at the vicarage, I swear), and I did find it hard at first. But by the end of the story I was quite relaxed about them, found they flowed easily and were enjoyable to write. I loved getting the chance to show Seb and Angel in their most intimate moments, and how their relationship developed in that respect.

Who is your favourite literary heroine?
I like a defiant heroine who refuses to be dictated to or told what her place is. I've got a soft spot for anti-heroine Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, despite all her bad deeds, because she plays the world instead of letting it play her. And I really liked Katniss is The Hunger Games, which I read recently, too. I think she's a complex character and a great role model for young girls.

Do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published writers?
Don't stop writing!

Someone on the NaNo forums gave me a great bit of advice, "push on into the white space". You can't edit nothing - just keep writing until you've got something to play with, and don't let confidence problems hold you back.

Secondly, don't skimp on the edit. If you can show agents and publishers something that isn't just a great story but polished enough to be almost submission-ready, that will help your chances no end.
A book I read after writing The Honey Trap was very useful in the edits, Self-editing for Fiction Writers. I've read it twice now and found it really helped me hone my style. No doubt there are lots of other great books on writing out there, but that's the one I keep by the bed.

Are you working on anything else at the moment and if so, can you tell us?
Don't know if I should but I will because I can never help talking about works in progress, I get too excited about them!

I've got two completed manuscripts I'm sitting on at the moment while I look for an agent. Both are romcoms set in my own lovely Yorkshire. The first is the story of a Yorkshire Dales pub quiz team, with the hero betting his best friend Clarrie a date that their team will win the quiz league. I love this story, the characters had me laughing out loud! The second is about two old schoolfriends who haven't seen each other in ten years, teaming up to renovate a broken-down Victorian lighthouse as an offbeat music venue. Of course, they soon find themselves falling in love...

I'm also about two-thirds through a draft tentatively titled Don't Fence Me In, about a runaway bride who hooks up with an Irish loner and his karaoke-singing dog to travel the country in a VW camper van. Watch this space!

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter you can find me at @MaryJayneBaker, and on Facebook at facebook.com/MaryJayneWrites. I also have a website, www.maryjaynebaker.co.uk

Thanks, Mary Jayne!

The Honey Trap by Mary Jayne Baker
The trap is set – but which one of them is the bait?

Journalist Angel Blackthorne is looking for her next big scoop. When her sleazy editor asks her to use her charms on super successful – and married – film director Sebastian Wilchester for a juicy exposé, Angel thinks what the hell? There’s a staff job on the horizon, and, let’s be honest, no one can make a cheater cheat if they don’t want to, right?

After the scandal breaks, Angel tries to put the story – and Seb – behind her, but fate seems to have other ideas. A near miss at a premiere after-party and a shared love of vintage film brings the honey closer to the trap.

But what happens when pretence leads to passion, and a ‘kiss and tell’ becomes something real?

BOOK NEWS: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young

The new novel from Samantha Young, the New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street, is out in September. The One Real Thing is the first in a romance series set on the Delaware coastline.

Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts...

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women's correctional facility where she works, she's always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison's library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town's charm-and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they've owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.

Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there's only one real thing in life worth fighting for....

BOOK REVIEW: The Ex Factor by Eva Woods

Would you ever date a friend's ex? Personally I always thought of it as a no-go area, but in The Ex Factor, the new novel by Eva Woods (author of The Thirty List), a group of friends does exactly that.

Marnie, Rosa, Ani and Helen are all unlucky in love. When Marnie returns to London after living abroad, the group reunite for drinks and a catch-up. Rosa has recently split from her husband due to his inability to stay faithful. Successful lawyer Ani steers clear of dating seeing as her day job, dealing with messy divorces, proves just how love can go wrong. Freelancer Helen hasn't dated in a long time. Her somewhat secret job - working on a website for married people looking for affairs - doesn't exactly provide a promising outlook. Plus, she still hasn't completely got over her ex. And when Marnie arrives, she might be in a bit of trouble...

Shocked at their lack of love, and fed up with the annoyances of online dating, Marnie comes up with a plan - to each date a friend's ex. After all - the potential date would be 'pre-screened' by a good friend, thus not coming with the chance of dating a potential oddball from an exaggerated dating profile. It's the perfect plan...or is it? Especially when journalist Rosa is asked to write about her latest project in 'freecycling' exes.

I don't want to go on and risk spoiling the book, but when the four pals begin their dates, things begin to get fun. But what about when it gets serious? As Rosa embarks on her latest article, the group start to realise that along with some rather interesting dates, there can be a risk in actually falling for the ex of one of your best friends.

The Ex Factor was an enjoyable, romantic read that I finished quite quickly. Granted, in my many years of reading chick-lit I have read numerous novels focusing on dating, however this one does come with a very interesting premise! I liked each of the characters, especially Helen, and of course, reporter Rosa with her article, as she worked alongside her cheating ex. If you're looking for a warm, lighthearted read then definitely pick up The Ex Factor. (I'm now going to check out The Thirty List!)

Rating: 4/5

UNCOVERED PICKS: Three New Thrillers

As a big fan of thrillers I'm always looking for the next gripping read! Here are three new thrillers from authors Louise Jensen, SJ Watson and Louise Candlish (author of Other People's Secrets and The Sudden Departure of the Frasers).

The Sister by Louise Jensen
‘I did something terrible Grace. I hope you can forgive me...'

Grace hasn’t been the same since the death of her best friend Charlie. She is haunted by Charlie’s words the last time she saw her, and in a bid for answers, opens an old memory box of Charlie’s. It soon becomes clear that there was a lot she didn’t know about her best friend.

When Grace starts a campaign to find Charlie’s father, Anna, a girl claiming to be Charlie’s sister steps forward. For Grace, finding Anna is like finding a new family and soon Anna has made herself very comfortable in Grace and boyfriend Dan’s home.

But something isn’t right. Things disappear, Dan’s acting strangely and Grace is sure that someone is following her. Is it all in Grace’s mind? Or as she gets closer to discovering the truth about both Charlie and Anna, is Grace in terrible danger?

There was nothing she could have done to save Charlie...or was there?

The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish
'I can't take my eyes off the water. Can you?'

It's summer when Elm Hill lido opens, having stood empty for years. For Natalie Steele - wife, mother, teacher - it offers freedom from the tightly controlled routines of work and family. Especially when it leads her to Lara Channing, a charismatic former actress with a lavish bohemian lifestyle, who seems all too happy to invite Natalie into her elite circle.

Soon Natalie is spending long days at the pool, socializing with new friends and basking in a popularity she didn't know she'd been missing. Real life, and the person she used to be, begins to feel very far away.

But is such a change in fortunes too good to be true? Why are dark memories of a summer long ago now threatening to surface? And, without realizing, could Natalie have been swept dangerously out of her depth?

Second Life by SJ Watson
She loves her husband.
She’s obsessed by a stranger.

She’s a devoted mother.
She’s prepared to lose everything.

She knows what she's doing.
She’s out of control.

She’s innocent.
She’s guilty as sin.

She’s living two lives.
She might lose both.

BOOK REVIEW: Melody Bittersweet and the Girls' Ghostbusting Agency by Kitty French

I'd been waiting to read Melody Bittersweet and the Girls' Ghostbusting Agency since I heard about its release, mainly because I adore chick lit with a paranormal twist. Kitty French is a USA today bestselling author, known for her popular Lucien Knight series, and romantic reads including The Piano Man Project and One Hot Summer. Melody Bittersweet was released at around the same time as the new Ghostbusters movie. And why not? Melody is pretty awesome and hilarious, just like the all-new movie cast.

Okay, so Melody is a ghostbuster - but minus the suits and the specialist equipment, and customised hearse...although Melody's car, Babs, does have a lot of character. Melody is a psychic, hailing from a family all born with the same gift, renowned in their home town for their long-standing business of bringing messages to loved ones from the deceased.

Approaching twenty-seven, single, and still living with her mum and slightly crazy gran, Melody decides it's finally take more control of her life and start a new business. Thus, the Girls' Ghostbusting Agency is created. Joined by best friend Marina and shy new recruit Artie, the agency's goal is to help spirits with unfinished business pass on. It's not long before the crew take on their first project - the stately Scarborough House, which is plagued by three ghosts, unable to leave their family abode until a long-standing murder case has been solved.

But it's not just the ghosts in Melody's way. Also hanging around Scarborough House is Leo Dark, arrogant TV psychic, Melody's ex, and now, her new business rival. And there's journalist Fletcher - a notorious enemy of the Bittersweets who's on a constant mission to disprove anything supernatural. Fletcher proves troublesome not just because of his nosy tendencies, but because he's terribly attractive...

When the owner of Scarborough House agrees to pay whoever gets rid of the ghosts first, Melody and her team set out to solve the mystery. But will they figure it out before Leo?

I have to say, I fell in love with this novel minutes after reading. I hadn't read any of Kitty's books prior to this one, so I didn't know what to expect (I had fallen in love with the premise!) but it really is fantastic. Kitty's writing is funny, punchy and downright hilarious, with a lovable cast of characters. Melody is a geeky, fun, determined woman who I instantly adored - along with her family!  The novel has everything you could want; a fun, positive heroine, great friends, romance and an intriguing, perfectly-paced mystery. Frankly, I found it hard to put down, and I'm hoping that there are more Melody Bittersweet books in the pipeline because a series would be brilliant!

Rating: 5/5

UNCOVERED PICKS: Three Summer Reads

Cornwall, Tuscany, or Manhattan - what's your dream escape? If you're looking for a romantic holiday-themed read to enjoy in the sun, then here's a selection of three new travel-themed reads, from Samantha Tonge (author of Doubting Abbey), Lisa Dickenson (Catch Me if You Cannes), and Sarah Morgan (First Time in Forever).

Breakfast Under a Cornish Sun by Samantha Tonge
Kate Golightly needs to move forward and what better way to do that then with a trip to the Cornish coast with best friend and boss, Izzy.

The sea wind is just what Kate needs to finally relax and begin to let go of her past. Except she’s suddenly got one big reason to panic! She RSVP’d ‘yes’ to the Queen Bee of her high school’s wedding saying she’s bringing her boyfriend (she doesn’t have one) who looks just like Ross Poldark!

With only two weeks to find the Poldark look-alike of her dreams Kate is under a lot of pressure for the Cornish coast to deliver...

You Had Me at Merlot by Lisa Dickenson 
Elle and Laurie are the last ones standing: they're single, they're not having babies any time soon and their weekends aren't filled with joyful meetings about mortgages. For Elle, this is fine. She likes her independent life, but Laurie wants love and she wants it now.

So when Laurie begs Elle to come with her on a singles holiday to a beautiful vineyard in Tuscany, Elle is reluctant. She has no intention of swapping her perfectly lovely life for someone else's idea of her Mr Perfect, but ten days under the Italian sun with her best friend and lashings of wine? How bad could that be?

Sunset in Central Park by Sarah Morgan
Love has never been a priority for garden designer Frankie Fisher. After witnessing the fallout of her parents’ divorce, she’s seen the devastation an overload of emotion can cause. The only man she feels comfortable with is her friend Matt—but that’s strictly platonic. If only she found it easier to ignore the way he makes her heart race…

Matt Walker has loved Frankie for years but, sensing how fragile she is beneath her feisty exterior, has always played it cool. But then he uncovers new depths to the girl he’s known forever, and doesn’t want to wait a moment longer. He knows Frankie has secrets and has buried them deep, but can Matt persuade her to trust him with her heart and kiss him under the Manhattan sunset?