Sue Fortin's Blog, page 5
October 15, 2015
The Art of Seduction – a guest post from Lorraine Wilson plus amazing #giveaway
Recently I was lucky enough to meet Marian Keyes at the Cheltenham Literary Festival after attending her talk. She’s always been one of my favourite authors so I was thrilled to discover how lovely she is in person. She was charming, funny and inspiring. She made everyone feel she’d love nothing more than to sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with them. One of the things she said that struck me was how lucky she’d been to have so many disasters and suffer depression because it gave her lots to bring to her stories!
That made me think about what I’ve brought to The Art of Seduction, my latest novel.
Despite the title (a play on words because the hero is an artist) it’s not so much a story about sex as about connection. Both Laura and Jack had an expat childhood but reacted to it in different ways. Jack refuses to become too attached to anything or anyone because he knows how transient life can be. Laura on the other hand longs to settle down, to have a proper home and to belong somewhere.
What they both really need is to be brave enough to forge a connection and let go of beliefs that are holding them back. For them, sex is a doorway to experiencing a connection worth changing for. For Laura, sex with Jack is especially empowering.
I had an expat childhood myself so writing about home, identity and belonging was especially poignant. Also, somewhat ironically, I was once approached in the National Gallery by an artist who wanted to paint me. I declined as I was in a relationship and suspected he wanted to do more than just paint me but I was very flattered.
Some of the story comes entirely from imagination though. I’ll leave you to decide which bits those are ;-)
The Art of Seduction (publication date 15th October, 2015) available here: hyperurl.co/artofseduction
Laura Baker has a plan. She’s going to make Jack McClaren, bad boy of the art world, face up to his responsibilities. Jack has a plan, to track down his elusive creative spark. When Laura ambushes him he’s found it. Now to light the fuse, sit back and enjoy the fireworks…
“If you love a sexy, sizzling book that packs an emotional punch, you’ve just found your perfect next read. Five sparkly stars from me.” Kitty French, USA Today Bestselling Author.
LAURA:
‘I live in London and work in a florists, though I do a bit of waitressing in the evenings as well, to make some extra money. With the mess my sister Sophie has got into we’re going to need every penny and it’s not like I can rely on Mum or Dad to help out.
It was through the waitressing temp job I finally found a way to turn things around, to make things right for my little sister. Going through the proper channels got me nowhere so I had to get…creative. The laws of right and wrong apply to everyone, or at least they should do. I admit Jack McClaren is super hot, after all I’m not blind, but he stands for all the things I despise – he’s feckless and irresponsible and it’s time someone made him pay. That someone is going to be me.’
JACK:
‘I should be in a great place right now, commissions have made me rich and critics have named me as one of the greatest portrait painters of the twenty first century. Apparently I’m the ‘bad boy of the art-world’, or so my publicist would have you believe. But I’ve got a problem, my creative spark is ominously absent, it’s been AWOL for a while. I’m busy procrastinating when Laura rockets into my life, bringing the elusive spark of inspiration with her. Sounds good, yes? Right up to the point when she opens her mouth and what she says…well, let’s just say her accusation leaves me reeling. It’s not long though before I realise I can turn the situation to my advantage. Seduction is an art and I’ve been told I’m a skilled artist in more ways than one. I’m all for taking opportunities to perfect my art. With Laura my plan is simple – light the fuse and then sit back and enjoy the fireworks.’
‘The Art of Seduction’ is a new novel to set your pulse racing from Lorraine Wilson, author of the bestselling Chalet Girl stories. It’s the perfect next read if you love Christina Lauren’s ‘Beautiful’ series or Alice Clayton’s ‘Cocktail’ series.
To celebrate publication of The Art of Seduction Lorraine is doing a mega-giveaway:
First prize: a Lorraine Wilson Design La Boutique shoulder bag worth £34.99, a set of Chalet Girl paperbacks, a tote bag, two brand new Clinique lipsticks, Clinique Take off the day make-up remover, Clinique samples, a Lorraine Wilson Design felt heart hanging decoration and an ebook copy of The Art of Seduction.
Two runner up prizes of: a paperback copy of Confessions of a Chalet Girl, a book bag, a Lorraine Wilson Design felt heart hanging decoration and an ebook copy of The Art of Seduction.
You can enter here:
http://bit.ly/1PaKvQV
Filed under: Book launch, Guests Tagged: Book_Launch, kindle, Lorraine_Wilson, Romance, The_Art_of_Seduction
October 1, 2015
The French Retreat – Cover Reveal
I’m really pleased to be able to share with you the cover and blurb for my novella THE FRENCH RETREAT.
The French Retreat is set in Southern Brittany where we have a second family home and so it seemed natural to use our cottage and the location as inspiration. I’ve wanted to write a book set in France for a long time and while I wait for feedback on book 4, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to do so. I’ve really enjoyed writing The French Retreat, so much so, I aim to write a few more novellas set in and around the area. For now, though, I’ll leave you with the cover and blurb.
The French Retreat is due to be released on 15 October.
With Christmas on the horizon, losing her job and her home wasn’t on Marcie Grainger’s wish list. In a bid to reassess her life, she heads off to the only place she has ever felt truly content – her brother’s farmhouse retreat in rural France.
Marcie isn’t the only one looking to escape. Ex-soldier Will hopes the gentle pace of French life will help to banish the ghosts of his past and offer him the fresh start he desires.
However, all is not what it seems at The Retreat. Fuelled by a string of strange happenings and local rumours, Will and Marcie are pushed together as they try to discover who or what is behind it all. In so doing, they end up finding a lot more than they bargained for.
The French Retreat is a story of human compassion, hope and love.
Sue
x
Filed under: Book launch Tagged: Cover_reveal, France, French, Novella, The_French_Retreat
September 1, 2015
Life Cycle of a Writer – Sue Fortin
My turn of Life Cycle of a Writer …
Originally posted on The Romaniacs:
Since my last Life Cycle of a Writer post where I talked about how I plot my novels with Post-It Notes (click HERE for link), and how I was aiming to finish the first draft of my WIP, I’m delighted to say that I typed THE END! Yay! That novel had been put to one side for quite some time while I worked on other projects, so having finally completed it and sent it out, I’m now waiting for feedback.
In an effort to stop myself constantly refreshing my inbox for any news, I’ve been keeping myself busy by writing a novella. It’s a romance with a mystery set in France called The French Effect, which I’m aiming to publish around the end of October.
Breton flag
As a family, we have a great love for France and have a second home in Southern Brittany. I’ve wanted to use the…
View original 162 more words
Filed under: Uncategorized
August 11, 2015
Book 4 Finished!
Today I was finally able to type THE END – book 4 has now been written. Yay!
Of course, when I say written, I just mean my final draft version. It’s yet to be seen by the publishers and editorial team but I will deal with that when it in due course, for now, I want to revel in the fact that I’ve completed what I set out to do about four years ago.
Book 4 began life as part of a writing course I undertook through the London School of Journalism and the lovely tutor, Margaret James. I completed about fourteen chapters while doing the course and Margaret’s advice was invaluable but, in the end, I couldn’t finish it – not then, anyway. I clearly remember Margaret’s comment that it was all very nice but nothing much was happening. Ouch. But she was right and I didn’t know how to fix it. I had, however, fallen in love with my hero (an Irish bike mechanic) and wasn’t prepared to end my relationship with him. Instead, we went on a break. A long one, granted but the three years in between did us the power of good. When I reacquainted myself with my hero and book 4, I knew what needed fixing. This was probably down to the experience I had gained over time as I developed the craft or writing and having three published books under my belt.
So, since March, I’ve been spending a lot of time with book 4 and my hero and I’m delighted we’ve got to The End in one piece. I’d like to say I’ll have a glass of wine to celebrate but having just checked the cupboards, I’m out of luck. Diet Coke it is!
Filed under: General blog Tagged: Book, manuscript, the_end, writing
July 28, 2015
Publication Day : RESURRECTION by Michelle Betham
Book #3 in THE LONE RIDERS MC ROMANCE SERIES
Release Date – July 28th
Forgetting the past can be dangerous. Re-living it can be deadly…
Someone in the shadows wants Coby Walker dead.
He’s not the only one.
Someone wants to bring The Lone Riders down.
He isn’t alone.
The club is in danger, but even Coby isn’t aware how deep that danger runs. How personal it’s all become. How many lives are at risk because he got distracted…
Ben Salter didn’t want to return to a life he’d left behind.
He was happy.
He was in love.
He was moving on.
But all of a sudden he finds himself thrust back into that world he’d never intended to return to, as the person he’d swore he’d never be again.
He thought he could handle it.
He thought pushing her away would be easy.
He was wrong.
Lines become blurred and loyalties confused as Ben’s need to avenge a past he couldn’t forget intensifies. And as his world quickly spirals out of control, that past starts to threaten his future; truths are revealed that change everything, and a secret is exposed that threatens to destroy the one thing that can keep him from falling apart – the one person who can save him; a secret that leads to a bitter betrayal that becomes a catalyst for an endgame he’d never wanted to play out…
Messed-up loyalties and a dangerous loss of focus puts The Lone Riders at risk; puts their resurrection in jeopardy. And they should have seen it coming…
Buy Links
Author Bio
Michelle Betham is an ex-media technician turned author of hot, edgy, gritty romance, usually involving rock stars, sports stars, and bikers. But not usually all in the same book. Yet.
She is both self-published and published through HarperImpulse, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.
Addicted to binge-watching TV dramas she struggles to think of a life before Netflix, loves rock music, tattoos, spicy food, and Keanu Reeves – a crush that’s lasted over twenty years, and one she blames entirely on ‘Point Break’…
Her dream is to ride a Harley. And visit Las Vegas. And be able to eat any amount of chocolate without putting on weight…
She lives in County Durham, north-east England, with her husband and West Highland Terrier, where she can be found most days drinking tea and making up stories.
Contact Links
Website – michellebetham.co.uk
Filed under: Uncategorized
June 10, 2015
Pets in Books
Living in rural Cambridgeshire as a child for several years, while my parents sampled the ‘Good Life’, we had lots of pets and animals – dogs, farm cats, chickens, ferrets and a pony. But it’s the dogs in particular that deserve a mention. My eldest brother had a tendency to rescue, adopt or foster any four legged canine that needed looking after. Fortunately, we had plenty of land and outbuildings for our guests, which included, a Jack Russell, a Greyhound, an Old English Sheepdog, a Doberman and a German Pointer – although not all at the same time. My mum might have been easy going, but she would have drawn the line at that, I’m sure.
At the time, we also had our own family pet dog, Tramp, so it’s no surprise that I’ve grown up to be something of a dog lover and enjoy it when pets pop up in a novel. They can be a great tool for showing another side to the characters in a book. Despite my dog bias, it’s cats who have appeared in my last two novels. Okay, the first time in Closing In, Scruffs only had a cameo role but in that one paragraph, he allowed the reader see the not quite so nice side of one of the characters. Don’t worry, no harm came to Scruffs.
Snoozing Rascal
In The Half Truth, my heroine, Tina Bolotnikov had a pet cat called Rascal who wasn’t there to show another side to Tina, but he helped her solve a couple of mysterious happenings in the house. Rascal in the book was directly taken from a real life Rascal, belonging to my friend and Romaniac pal, Laura E. James. When I visited Laura last year, Rascal and I became firm friends so it was a natural choice for my character’s pet.
Rascal
My current WIP has a dog in it – he’s a terrier, although I haven’t made up my mind what breed of terrier, so far he’s been a Jack Russell, a Highland Terrier and an Airedale. He’s been really useful as my hero confides in him and tells him a few things that he wouldn’t necessarily want anyone else to know.
Anyway, I thought I’d share a few photos of my own pets, past and present.
Sonny
Tess
Jake
Tramp
Fluff
Ellie
Fin
Filed under: General blog Tagged: books, cats, Closing_in, dogs, pets, The_Half_Truth, writing
June 4, 2015
You are cordially invited…
Hi, my name’s Eve Devon and I write sexy heroes, sassy heroines and happy ever afters… and I would like to cordially invite you to enjoy Magical Weddings: 15 Enchanting Romances: Whether real or only in the hearts of the bride and groom, the magic of weddings is undeniable. And irresistible! As these 15 enchanting happily-ever-afters by bestselling and award-winning authors prove.
From sweet to spicy, the romances bundled into this set, 14 of them new releases, cross time and unite hearts, cast spells of laughter, battle wedding jitters and fight back tears, while weaving love’s hopeful magic throughout 1400 pages.
Receiving the invite to write a novella for the Magical Weddings box-set was a lot like receiving an actual wedding invitation in the post. I got that lovely warm sparkle of possibility that has always been present whenever I’ve opened one of those calligraphy-embossed-linen-blend envelopes. Then I was quickly scanning the invite for that vital information—the who…the when…the where…
The ‘who’ turned out to be a group of fifteen authors, from all corners of the globe—but all with one thing in common that makes us a great fit—we’re all completely in love with romance and two people getting their HEA.
The ‘when’ turned out to be 16th June 2015 – when the box-set releases (it is available for pre-order now).
And the ‘where’ is:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Google Play iTunes KOBO
Of course women know that the real question that springs to mind as soon as you receive a wedding invite is: what do I wear? Is there a theme? Do I go vintage or modern?
For this invite I knew the theme was Magical Weddings and that I could choose whether the magic was real or metaphorical. Me being me, I chose real and metaphorical and I chose historical and contemporary!
Blurb: The Dress, by Eve Devon, Magical Weddings box-set:
Venice, 1615 and instead of the man her father wants her to marry, lacemaker Caterina dreams of Matheo. But when she dabbles with magical lace, she falls foul of the ruling family, altering not only her destiny, but Matheo’s too, and now imprisoned, Caterina must design a way to entwine their fates again.
England, 2015 and when Cait bumps into Matthew, back from his travels for their friends’ wedding, the spark between them flares instantly. But is it another case of the right place at the wrong time for this bridesmaid and best man, or can a dress from Cait’s lace exhibition at the Museum of Fashion weave its magic through the fabric of time, and unite their destinies, too?
So, wands at the ready…let the box-set cast its spell and…enjoy :-)
Filed under: Book launch, Guests Tagged: Box_Set, Eve_Devon, Magical_Weddings, The_Dress
April 28, 2015
Life Cycle of a Writer – Taking A Break From Writing
It’s been a particularly demanding year, I moved house, had one book published, completed and submitted another, all this alongside both my parents and my daughter being admitted to hospital (emergencies) at different times and, very sadly, my lovely mother-in-law passed away. So, with some relief, I took a break from writing to allow life to settle. I blogged about it over at The Romaniacs for my turn on Life Cycle of a Writer …
Originally posted on The Romaniacs:
Sue Fortin
It doesn���t seem like five minutes since I was here blogging about receiving my edits for The Half Truth (click HERE to view). Since then my third Harper Impulse novel has flown the nest and is fending for itself out in the big wide world. I will be honest in saying that afterwards I felt quite drained by the whole process. Despite having plenty of writing to get on with, I didn���t feel emotionally or physcially able to do any. At the back of my mind the writing advice of ���write something every day��� kept plaguing me but try as I might, I couldn���t summon up any enthusiasm. ��I was also very much aware my family were well in credit for some of my time, having graciously and lovingly, supported me when I was under deadline pressure.
The Owl & The Pussy Cat
Amberley
So, ignoring the ���write���
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March 25, 2015
Sue Fortin’s Lovely Blog Hop
I’ve been nominated by Mark West for the��Lovely Blog Hop where I share some of the things that have shaped my life. Thanks for the nomination, Mark. ��:-)
First Memory
I’m not entirely sure which is my first memory as I have several around the time I was four years old and we had just moved to St Neots in Cambridgeshire. The one that I remember the clearest is going with my dad and two older brothers to see my mum in hospital. My younger sister had just been born and children weren’t allowed on the ward so my mum, who fortunately was on the ground floor of the local maternity hospital, brought my sister over to the window so we could see her.
me, my brothers and sister, June 1972
Books
I’ve always been a huge bookworm. My first love being Enid Blyton, especially the mystery series. I went on to devour Agatha Christie and anything with a murder or a mystery to be solved. ��Thrillers and mysteries were my first book love with romance being my second. I covered this in more detail on a recent post here.
Libraries
When I was a teenager my family moved to West Sussex and I had to start a new secondary school in Year 10 (that’s 4th year in old money). Although I never had any real issues with school, I neither loved it nor loathed it, I found myself often skiving days off school, or bunking as it was called in West Sussex. I would seek refuge at the local library and hide myself away in the upstairs Reference Rooms. Rather ironically, it was there I would actually do my school work. I liked the solitude, the autonomy and the silence. I’m not sure what drove me to take days off school and, Mum, if you’re reading this … sorry for all the times you asked me how school was and I said it was great. I actually meant the library was great. :-)
What’s Your Passion
Other than my family and writing, I suppose it has to be sewing. My nan was a seamstress and pattern cutter in London, I think I inherited my love of fabric and creating things from her.
Learning
My day job sees me in an educational environment with 16+ year olds, I have school and college aged children and I have, in the past, undertaken studies through Adult Education and the Open University – I’m surrounded by conventional education and I do really enjoy learning. In fact, I am currently on an 18 month course through my work so, perhaps, I’m making up for all those days I sat in the library when I should have been learning at school or maybe the solitude in the libraries and self-educating was the forerunner to my independent distance learning with the Open University?
Writing
Having always wanted to write, one of my first collection of stories was when I was 10 years old. It was all about twin sisters and their adventures – I used to love free writing at school, aka, teacher needs to get on with other stuff. I continued to dip in and out of writing, beginning lots of things but never finishing them. It wasn’t until I had my youngest child and I had time at home that I actually completed a full length novel. ��Of course, that manuscript will NEVER see the light of day and I know I’ve improved since then, but then writing is all about learning – the two themes compliment each other in a continual circule. Write – learn/develop – write – learn/develop.
I’m passing the Lovely Blog Hop baton onto
Filed under: General blog Tagged: Lovely_Blog_Hop, Mark_West, writing
March 19, 2015
Every Marriage Has Its Secrets – THE HALF TRUTH out today
My third Harper Impulse novel, The Half Truth, is released today in digital format, with the paperback on 4 June. ��It’s a mystery with romance and, like my previous two novels, is set mainly on the south coast of the UK, although the story does venture to London a few times.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Every marriage has its secrets���
Tina Bolotnikov, widowed after her husband, Sasha, is killed in a car accident, relocates back to her hometown on the south coast of the UK, to bring up her young son. Her life back in London with her adored husband is now nothing but a memory; a history to pass onto her son.
DS John Nightingale saw his partner killed in the line of duty and has made it his personal and professional quest to bring to justice the Russian gang responsible. Five years on and the killer is still free but as reports come in of Sasha Bolotnikov���s brother returning to the UK, John is tasked with tracking him down and following him to the seaside town of Littlehampton.
Tina finds herself an unwitting connection to a world she knew nothing about. She thought she knew her husband. She thought their past was the truth. But now as the investigation draws her closer to DS Nightingale, professional lines are blurred and crossed, and only he holds the key to her future.
Filed under: Book launch Tagged: Book_Launch, HarperImpulse, Sue_Fortin, The_Half_Truth
