LEGENDBORN BLOG TOUR

I am so delighted to have Tracy ( now a New York Times Bestseller) on my blog today discussing the things she loves about the UK.

Top things Tracy loves in the UK

I did a summer abroad class and internship in London between my two university degrees, and living and working there was such an incredible experience. I was fortunate enough to intern with Apples and Snakes, the performance poetry organization now based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford. After my studies and work concluded, my best friend and I traveled to Scotland. I hope to make it to Wales as soon as travel is safe; it’s been on my “bucket list” for as long as I can remember! For now, here are my top seven favorite things in the UK. 

1. A Full English Breakfast
   • I love dining out, and on my first day in London having a traditional full English breakfast was the best cure for my layover. I devoured it. My only regret is that I can’t remember the restaurant my hosts took me to so that I can go again next time I’m in the city. 
2. Walking along the South Bank in London
   • I walked the South Bank several times and each visit saw something new. My favorites were the London Eye and the BFI Southbank building, where I caught a screening with my class.
3. Taking it easy with friends 
   • London has incredible places to just sit down for a while with friends and enjoy people-watching with a beverage, a snack, or a bit of chocolate. My favorite spots were the walkway and grass in sight of the London Tower Bridge (made some new friends there one day!) and Trafalgar Square.
4. Tate Modern
   • It’s just an incredible museum. Spent hours there, and could have spent more!
5. Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh
   • On my first day in Edinburgh I remember seeing Arthur’s Seat from a distance and feeling such an intense pull toward it. It truly feels like a magical hike, climbing toward the sky and up an extinct volcano. If you haven’t been, the views are breathtaking. 
6. PG Tips
   • This is probably going to make folks laugh, but I really fell in love with PG Tips in the morning in my internship days and it’s just not prevalent here in the States. I have really distinct memories of the flavor, and added a tiny splash of milk. 
7. Theatre
   • I was lucky enough to see several productions in London while interning and as a part of my degree program, and visited several different theatres! My faves included Theatre Royal Stratford East, Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End, and the Dominion Theatre in the West End.

BLOG TOUR Dorothy Koomson – All My Lies Are True

As you may know, All My Lies Are True is the sequel to my bestselling novel, The Ice Cream Girls. The Ice Cream Girls is the tale of Serena and Poppy, two women who had an affair with their teacher, Marcus, as teenagers. When Marcus is murdered, both of them are publicly labelled The Ice Cream Girls and are put on trial for the crime. While Poppy goes to jail, Serena walks away free. Twenty years later, Poppy is released from prison, determined to get revenge on Serena. Serena has spent the last twenty years terrified of her husband and children finding out about her past, so she is determined to keep her secret. All My Lies Are True is set ten years after the events of The Ice Cream Girls. All the characters have moved on and Serena’s children have grown up, but a new, unexpected threat is now hanging over all their lives. During this special All My Lies Are True tour, you will get a brief rundown of the main characters from both books and find out where this new story takes them.

Today I’m, happy to introduce you to Logan Carlisle!

Made by Derren Toussaint 

Logan Carlisle is Poppy’s younger brother. He was only six when Poppy went to prison so grew up without her. Poppy was desperate to reconnect with Logan and her sister, Bella, when she left prison, ten years earlier in The Ice Cream Girls, but their parents blocked that as much as possible. In the years since being reunited, they have become close again. In All My Lies Are True, Logan has taken it upon himself to secretly hunt down Serena to make her confess for her crime, so Poppy can start to live again. He instead meets Verity, Serena’s daughter, and things take a terrible turn when he is attacked and hospitalised, with Verity accused of the crime. . .

Tomorrow go to Zubscovered (@zubscovered) to find out about  Bella Carlisle, Poppy’s sister.

BLOG TOUR – Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson

Bonnie. Never Mum or Mummy or Mother. Just Bonnie… When it comes to flying under the radar, Ro Snow is an expert. No friends. No boys. No parties. And strictly NO VISITORS. It may be lonely, but at least this way the truth remains where it should – hidden. Then Tanvi Shah, the girl who almost died, comes tumbling back into her life, and Ro finds herself losing control of her carefully constructed lies. But if Ro’s walls come crumbling

Paper Avalanche can be purchased through Waterstones

 

 

 

EXTRACT – PAPER AVALANCHE BY LISA WILLIAMSON

I grope for the light switch with my left hand. The fluorescent strip lights take a few seconds to flicker on, buzzing angrily like a disturbed beehive. During this thin slice of time I sometimes fantasize that while I’ve been out, some sort of miracle has occurred, and the lights will turn on

to illuminate the sort of sleek, orderly kitchen you see in the pages of the IKEA catalogue. It never does though, no matter how hard I wish for it. Instead, it’s the same old chaos – overflowing cupboards, a kitchen table groaning under piles of rubbish and an endless supply of dirty dishes

stacked in the sink.

 

I inch across the overly bright kitchen, navigating the boxes and bags and gravity-defying piles of papers, climbing and squeezing, ducking and contorting like I’m a contestant on The Cube.

 

I imagine a parallel universe where I invited Jamie in. Just the thought makes me want to shrivel up with embarrassment. And fear. Because it’s not just about him thinking I’m weird or disgusting. It’s about him telling an adult. And that adult making a well-meaning call to Social Services. And Social Services coming to take me away. And then what would happen? Because as bad as the house is, it would be a hundred times worse if I wasn’t around. How long would Bonnie last without me? I dread to think.

 

I shudder and continue into the hallway. It’s similarly packed, the flowery wallpaper almost entirely hidden from view. A string of fairy lights winds round the bannister – a remnant of a time when my mum and I actually celebrated Christmas properly, with presents, and a real tree, and turkey for lunch. I’ve been waiting for them to run out of juice for years now, but they stubbornly hang on, their bulbs emitting the weariest of rainbow glows as I pass.

 

There was a time when I could walk down the hallway more or less normally, but over the years, as more and more junk has been piled up against either wall, the floor space has become narrower and narrower, forcing me to edge along it sideways, like a crab. According to the internet, the ‘experts’

call these narrow passages ‘goat paths’, because they resemble the well-trodden trails goats follow on mountainsides. Only whereas the goats are treading on grass and dirt, I’m treading on paper – mounds and mounds of it, the surface slippery and bumpy beneath my feet. It’s been so long since I last saw the hallway carpet, I can’t remember for certain what colour it is.

 

My mum, Bonnie, doesn’t really discriminate when it comes to her ‘collecting’, but it’s definitely paper that dominates – newspapers, battered paperbacks, leaflets, catalogues, bills, receipts, handwritten letters, postcards, travel brochures, shopping lists, old telephone books, calendars

and diaries from years gone by, notebooks filled with empty pages, recipes and vouchers clipped from the pages of magazines, envelopes separated from their original contents, old train tickets. And greetings cards. Hundreds and hundreds of unsent greetings cards – birthday cards, Christmas cards,

congratulations cards, thank you cards, get well soon cards – each one of them blank inside.

 

Sometimes, I try to ignore the mess, not to let it get to me. Or I try telling myself that it could be worse, that Bonnie could be what is known as a ‘dirty’ hoarder and the house could be full of used sanitary towels and human excrement, so aren’t I actually quite lucky? Occasionally my pep talks

work. Not tonight though. Tonight, every single scrap of paper makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs, until my voice is hoarse and my throat red raw.

 

I brace myself and push open the living-room door. Bonnie is sitting in the one available spot – a floral armchair with a broken footrest and lumpy seat cushion, the fabric discoloured from years of occupation. A large glass of red wine is balanced precariously on the stack of old news papers

acting as a makeshift side table. 

 

Bonnie.

 

Never Mum or Mummy or Mother.

 

Just Bonnie.

If you love the sound of this book as much as I do you can buy the book then don’t forget you can purchase it from Waterstones

Bed & Breakfast On The Beach Blog Tour

Amazon

Waterstones

I’m so happy to be taking part in the blog tour for Kat French’s latest book! I have a little Extract to share with you all from Chapter 4.

‘Tell me, what are three gorgeous young women like you girls doing on a sleepy island like this? Are you criminals hiding from the mob?’ Her eyes glittered with humour. ‘Please say you are!’
As she spoke Panos poured her a drink and slid it over the bar to her.
‘Nothing quite that glamorous, I’m afraid,’ Frankie said. ‘It was just a good time for a change for all of us, for different reasons.’
Good-natured curiosity filled Corinna’s eyes. ‘Would it be too rude to ask what they were?’ she asked, and Panos immediately jumped in.
‘Absolutely, yes, it would indeed be very rude,’ he chided, shaking his head at them to let them off the hook.
‘I left my husband because we didn’t love each other any more,’ Frankie said suddenly, then took a huge gulp of her drink. ‘I’ve come here for an adventure.’
Some people might have felt uncomfortable at such a candid revelation from a stranger, but not Corinna. She clapped her hands, her gold bracelets jangling on her wrists. ‘Bravo for you, my darling! A marriage without love is a dead dodo!’
Stella nodded, a little morose. ‘And I got fired from my job. I came here because I don’t know what else to do.’
‘Ah, now that is interesting,’ Corinna said, looking intently at Stella. ‘Because you look to me like a woman who always knows what she should do. I think you’re here because you know that this is exactly where you need to be.’
In front of Winnie’s eyes, Stella’s shoulders straightened a little, as if Corinna had applied soothing balm to her injured pride. Winnie decided that she really quite liked Corinna. Emboldened, she threw her hat into the ring.
‘My husband was having an affair with the girl in the work canteen, even though we were trying for a baby and he claimed to be perfectly happy.’
The words left her in a rush, because they stung less if she said them quickly. Left to linger in her mouth they grew thorns and cut into her, leaving her raw and sore for days. Hence the fact that she hadn’t told anyone new her sorry story – not until now, anyhow. Surprisingly though, this time she found herself unscathed, and on closer reflection she might even feel slightly liberated from the long shadow Rory’s infidelity had cast over her.
Behind her, Panos clicked his tongue in disgust and poured an extra shot of gin into her glass.
‘Now, that is an unfortunate situation.’ Corinna shook her head. ‘But my darling, how much worse would it have been if you’d had a child before you realised that he was a feckless fool?’
Winnie nodded, downhearted. She’d thought the same herself, although she sometimes wondered if she’d pressured him too much about getting pregnant and that had been the reason for his affair. But what would that say about him if so? If the effort of supporting her was too much hard work to bother?
‘Pah. I expect he was a man with a little . . .’ Corinna crooked her little finger and winked, making them all laugh despite the gravity of Winnie’s marital woes. ‘And so now you’re all three footloose, fancy-free and ready for adventure. How delicious!’ Corinna rubbed her hands together and then turned to Panos, sparkly-eyed with mischief. ‘Panos here is one of our most eligible bachelors,’ she said. ‘He has the best bar on the island, and who wouldn’t fall in love with that face?’
Right now, that face had turned puce with embarrassment.
‘Corinna,’ he muttered, slamming clean glasses away onto the shelf above his head.
‘And there I was thinking I was the most eligible bachelor on the island,’ someone else said, and they all turned to see Jesse had strolled into the bar.

The Scarecrow Queen Blog Tour

Today I am happy to say that I am participating in The Scarecrow Queen Blog Tour.

The Scarecrow Queen is the third and final book in The Sin Eaters series.I’m hoping that you would have read this series because OMG IT’s AMAZING but if not, heres some info!

Amazon

Waterstones

 The Book Depository

The final battle is coming… As the Sleeping Prince tightens his hold on Lormere and Tregellan, the net closes in on the ragged band of rebels trying desperately to defeat him. Twylla and Errin are separated, isolated, and running out of time. The final battle is coming, and Aurek will stop at nothing to keep the throne forever…

Explosive, rich and darkly addictive, this is the stunning conclusion to Mel Salisbury’s internationally best-selling trilogy that began with The Sin Eaters Daughter

As part of the Blog Tour, Melinda and I have both made vision boards for Lief.

My Board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melinda’s Board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I had to say about Melinda’s vision board:

Both mood boards feature a silver sword which I think we both chose because it linked in with the fact that Lief is the Silver Knight.We both feature Blood except I chose to have blood coming off of a flower to show that Lief is supposedly good at healing whereas Mel chose to have it on his hands and body. Mel’s mood board is much darker than mine and shows more of the family aspect of Lief whereas my pictures are more related to his personality. I chose to include a farm in my board because I felt like it symbolised his childhood. 

What Mel had to say about mine:

I absolutely love Liv’s Lief board, and how it reflects his whole life. She’s included his farming background, and the story book connection, I love the wolf, which to my mind represents both his mother, and him – the wolf’s pack mentality, and love of family, no matter the cost. I love the bloody rose, and also the nod to his Hogwarts House. All of the Vastels are Slytherins, but Lief is perhaps the darker, more selfish side of it.

 

When not working on her next novel Melinda Salisbury is busy reading and travelling, both of which are now more addictions than hobbies.  She lives by the sea, somewhere in the south of England.

The Scarecrow Queen is the highly anticipated and captivating finale in the internationally bestselling trilogy that began with The Sin Eater’s Daughter. Published by Scholastic 2 March 2017.

 

 

BLOG TOUR -Watch Me by Angela Clarke

Amazon

YOU HAVE SIX SECONDS TO READ THIS MESSAGE…

The body of a 15-year-old is found hours after she sends a desperate message to her friends. It looks like suicide, until a second girl disappears.

This time, the message is sent directly to the Metropolitan Police – and an officer’s younger sister is missing.

DS Nasreen Cudmore and journalist Freddie Venton will stop at nothing to find her. But whoever’s behind the notes is playing a deadly game of hide and seek – and the clock is ticking.

YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO SAVE THE GIRL’S LIFE.
MAKE THEM COUNT.

I’ve got lots of lovely things to share with you in this post including a giveaway so stay tuned 😉

From the moment I received this book in the post it had my attention! the blurb had me itching to know more, it made me feel so tense.Anyway enough about how I felt.

I would like to gift all the budding crime writers with some Top Tips from none other than Angela Clarke!

Angela gave some amazing tips in that video and I think suspense in a crime novel is a must! I mean how can you not have suspense?

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

GIVEAWAY

 Today’s giveaway is a copy of The Secret by Katerina Diamond AND Watch Me by Angela Clarke! The blurb below is for The Secret!

When Bridget Reid wakes up in a locked room, terrifying memories come flooding back – of blood, pain, and desperate fear. Her captor knows things she’s never told anyone. How can she escape someone who knows all of her secrets?

As DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles search for Bridget, they uncover a horrifying web of abuse, betrayal and murder right under their noses in Exeter.

And as the past comes back to haunt her, Grey must confront her own demons. Because she knows that it can be those closest to us who hurt us the most…

You can enter the giveaway by retweeting my pinned tweet on my Twitter is @Livsescape

The giveaway is UK ONLY!! Sorry 😦

GIVEAWAY!!! Watch Me by @TheAngelaClarke AND the Secret by @TheVenomousPen Retweet to enter! UK ONLY! Ends 18/1 pic.twitter.com/Yjqb43E2vY

— Liv Facey (@Livsescape) January 14, 2017

BLOG TOUR -What Alice Knew

How far would you go to keep a secret?

Alice has a perfect life – a great job, happy kids, a wonderful husband. Until he goes missing one night; she receives a suspicious phone call; things don’t quite add up.

Alice needs to know what’s going on. But when she uncovers the truth she faces a brutal choice. And how can she be sure it is the truth?

Sometimes it’s better not to know.

I’ve decided to do something a little different, so instead of doing a review of the whole book, I’m going to detail/review my thoughts half way through the book.

I was instantly grabbed by the book! It was so different to all the thrillers I’d read recently, the art concept of the book really helps you get into the characters mind.  When you start the book Alice has a perfect life and I obviously knew something was going to go wrong because it’s a thriller.

Whenever I read a thriller book I’m constantly trying to pick up clues on what’s going to happen and this time I was correct in my theories. Personally I think it was pretty obvious on what the story as to why her husband didn’t come home was going to be however knowing that did not in any sense make the story boring,it made it even more interesting.

What Alice Knew is not about uncovering the truth but actually how she deals with it and so far I’m questioning myself as to What I would do in Alice’s shoes.

Every choice Alice makes has a consequence and she questions, is it sometimes better not to know?

 

BLOGMAS – DAY 3 BLOG TOUR – Falling for the girl next door

Sloane Whitaker never expected to like living in Texas, but after a few months in the Lone Star State, she has to admit she likes the food, the school, and the boy next door. What she doesn’t like is the fact that half her family is still back in New York. Convincing her dad to relocate to Texas requires making their upcoming visit as perfect as possible. The perfect dinner, the perfect daughter…with the perfect boyfriend.

But when her not-so-perfect boyfriend Tru Dorsey is suddenly not-so-available, Sloane has to find another dad-impressing guy to show off at dinner. Tru himself suggests enlisting the help of a fake boyfriend, but the reality of another guy with Sloane on his arm might be more than Tru can manage. Add in a mysterious blackmailer and a divided family, and Sloane and Tru’s relationship might not be able to handle the heat.

My Thoughts

I would like to thank Entangled teen for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute and quick book to read and I absolutely loved it!

Falling for the Girl Next Door is part of a series, it is the sequel to Ten Things Sloane Hates About Tru. When I started the book I didn’t actually know that it was part of a series and didn’t really figure it out until 3/4 of the way through.After finishing the book I can confirm that it can be read as a standalone.

One of the main reasons I liked this book was because I liked that Tru and Sloane had two completely different families and I also liked  how each character had completely different personalities.

I would recommend this book for a quick read!

Let me know if your planning to read it or if you’ve read it.

BLOG TOUR!! A Year And A Day – Isabelle Broom

Amazon

Waterstones

For Megan, a winter escape to Prague with her friend Ollie is a chance to find some inspiration for her upcoming photography exhibition. But she’s determined to keep their friendship from becoming anything more. Because if Megan lets Ollie find out about her past, she risks losing everything – and she won’t let that happen again . . .

For Hope, the trip is a surprise treat from Charlie, her new partner. But she’s struggling to enjoy the beauty of the city when she knows how angry her daughter is back home. And that it’s all her fault . . .

For Sophie, the city has always been a magical place. This time she can’t stop counting down the moments until her boyfriend Robin joins her. But in historic Prague you can never escape the past . . .

Three different women.

Three intertwining love stories.

One unforgettable, timeless city.

My Thoughts

Earlier on this year I read a fantastic book called My Map Of You ( which I did a review on!) and so when I heard that the author had a second book coming out, I thanked my lucky stars because it meant that I got to read not one but TWO books by a wonderful author in the same year! Your probably all wondering who it is? But you should know because it’s the lovely Isabelle Broom!

I absolutely love the fact that Isabelle has stayed with her destination set books, which result in me trying to planning my next holiday there!

A Year and A Day will have you instantly hooked, it is told from 3 different perspectives which is very exciting as they are 3 completely different women. The description of the Prague is so stunning it will make you wish that you had planned a Christmas break there! Plus I’m sure that once you read this book, you’ll wish that you could a love story like the girls in the book, in all honesty I think I would be very pleased!

Out of all the character “pairings” in the book I would definitely have to say that Megan and Ollie were my favourite, I just loved them so much and I honestly feel like they need their own book because Megan and I were just too alike it was actually crazy! I just really connected with the whole novel  which was 100% down to brilliant writing skills that Isabelle holds! (I’m so Jealous)

I have to warn you that there is a bit in the book that left me blubbering a little bit…. OK A LOT! But I just didn’t see it coming and it was bit emotional for me. This book will NOT fail to keep you interested .

I can’t wait to read Isabelle’s next book but until then I think everyone should DEFINITLY read A Year and a Day!!

Rating:5/5

Published By: Michael Joseph

BLOG TOUR!! The Secret – Katerina Diamond

Amazon

Waterstones

Foyles

Whsmith

I’m extremely delighted to tell you that I am participating in #AVerySecretBlogTour  I was even more excited last night after I read @AvonBooksUK cryptic tweet about me!

Oh no! I reckon our wonderful sixth blogger has escaped! Find her at tomorrow's #AVerySecretBlogTour… pic.twitter.com/WhgI9TU2bG

— Avon Books UK (@AvonBooksUK) October 24, 2016

Did any of you guess that it was me?

Anyway your probably wondering what I’ve got in store for this wonderful post and I can reveal that I’m giving you an exclusive sneak peek to an extract from an early part of the book BUT in exchange you have to promise to #KeeptheSecret

 

The adrenaline was pumping so fast that she couldn’t think clearly; was she afraid or just really fucking cold? For now she just needed to concentrate on getting to Sam. She had to get to their place. It was her only chance. 

She edged along the side of the river towards the back of the pub where she hoped Sam would be waiting. It’d be shut now, but it was secluded enough that they wouldn’t need to worry about being seen together. She was out of breath from the cold. She hadn’t heard the man for a long time. Maybe it was safe to get out? She wanted to let go of the edge and just let her head fall beneath the surface. Moving slowly was even more exhausting. She was so tired. Is this hypothermia? Drowning wasn’t even something that she cared about; she just wanted to fall asleep for a bit. Just a little sleep, then she could start moving again. She tried not to think about what was in the water. Since she had been small and seen a documentary about a giant deep-sea squid Bridget had had a fear of dark water. She could see it now as she blinked. Each blink seemed to last a little longer than the one before. The only thing propelling her to open her eyes again was the thought of that squid with its enormous red head and the tentacles that swept through the water like wet velvet, heavy but effortless. Always just about to touch her as she moved forward beyond its grasp.

Bridget reached the Double Locks pub and dug her frozen fingers into the grass on the embankment, dragging herself out of the water. She had made it. The upside of the extreme cold was that she no longer had any pain in her knee, or any feeling in her legs at all, for that matter. She was so exhausted; she had to rest for a moment. The damp grass was warm and soft compared to the sharpness of the water. She could barely move and it was so dark that she just lay there, looking up at the moon with the clouds rolling over it. Don’t fall asleep. Her eyelids became heavy and as much as she wanted to fight it, her body was taking over. It was time to close her eyes.

All I can say now is go and purchase a copy of The Secret and to tell you it’s £1.99 on iBooks currently….