PINTEREST
BLOGLOVIN
GOODREADS
Available in ebook and paperback (9 April 2018)
344 pages
My thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the invite to take part in the blog tour and for providing the interview. There is also a giveaway for 3 paperback copies, open internationally. The entry details are at the end of this post.
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Hi there. I’m an author of nine rom-com novels. I live in Berkshire with my cat Stanley. My ninth novel, The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay launched on April 9th.
Where did the idea for this book come from?
I like to write from the heart and a lot of my subject matter does come from life events that have happened to me. I have written about subjects others may fear to talk about; namely bereavement, miscarriage and infertility. It’s always very heart-warming to receive thank you messages from people I have helped with my candid and understanding take on such topics.
With this recent novel, I was inspired by a painting of a corner shop. I live near a village called Sunninghill, my dad is an artist and painted the little old shop many years ago. It used to be a sweet shop but is long gone now. I thought back to the novel Chocolat, and suddenly thought what a great focal point for a novel, a seaside corner shop would be. On the book cover, the actual painting that my dad did, is incorporated into the illustration.
Do you have a writing routine? If so, can you tell us about it?
Basically, when I start a book, I just don’t stop writing. I usually wake early, say around six, start typing until I get too tired to type anymore, then start again the next day in the same way. It really is Groundhog Day when I am writing a new one.
What’s the best bit of writing advice that you’ve ever received?
Stephen King said to not edit until you’ve finished the whole book. Saves a lot of time and makes sense.
How do you get the word out about your work?
My background is in PR and marketing, so I use social media a lot. I also have a good relationship with BBC Radio Berkshire and am always looking at different angles to try and promote myself. I’m currently contacting literary festival organisers as I enjoy being on literary panels, plus public speaking. I always say, the easy bit is writing the book, getting it out to the masses is very hard. Hopefully, this wonderful tour, incorporating 49 bloggers will help!
Who would your ideal dinner guests be?
Will.i.am, Tom Read Wilson and Prince Harry.
What is your biggest regret?
I don’t regret anything. Everything I have done has shaped me as a person.
What makes you smile?
Stanley, my RSPCA cat.
What was your first job?
I used to wash up in pub kitchen in Ascot on a Saturday.
What hobby/hobbies do you have?
I love to power walk in Windsor Great Park and regularly go to horse racing meetings at Ascot Racecourse.
| About the Book |
Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he – or she – has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it.
Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed – and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail?
There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events.
With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light.
| Author Bio |
Award winning author Nicola May lives in Ascot in Berkshire with her rescue cat Stanley. Her hobbies include watching films that involve a lot of swooning, crabbing in South Devon, eating flapjacks and enjoying a flutter on the horses. Inspired by her favourite authors Milly Johnson and Carole Matthews, Nicola writes what she describes as chicklit with a kick.
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***GIVEAWAY***
Win x 3 Paperback copies of The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay (Open Internationally)
*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 I reserve 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 I will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
My Reading Corner is not the organiser of this giveaway nor has any responsibility for dispatch or delivery of the prize.
