Thursday, 28 April 2016
The Little French Guesthouse by Helen Pollard
Series: La Cour des Roses: Book 1
Release Date: 28th April 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Publisher: Bookouture
Genres: Romantic Comedy
BOOK BLURB
I am thrilled to welcome the lovely Helen Pollard to the blog. Helen's book The Little French Guesthouse is released today so make sure you rush out and buy it! Lets find out what the book is about first and then read the great interview with Helen.
BOOK BLURB
Sun, croissants and fine wine.
Nothing can spoil the perfect holiday. Or can it?
When Emmy Jamieson arrives
at La Cour des Roses, a beautiful guesthouse in the French countryside,
she can’t wait to spend two weeks relaxing with boyfriend Nathan. Their
relationship needs a little TLC and Emmy is certain this holiday will do the
trick. But they’ve barely unpacked before he scarpers with Gloria, the
guesthouse owner’s cougar wife.
Rupert, the ailing guesthouse
owner, is shell-shocked. Feeling somewhat responsible, and rather generous
after a bottle (or so) of wine, heartbroken Emmy offers to help. Changing
sheets in the gîtes will help keep her mind off her misery.
Thrust into the heart of the
local community, Emmy suddenly finds herself surrounded by new friends. And
with sizzling hot gardener Ryan and the infuriating (if gorgeous) accountant
Alain providing welcome distractions, Nathan is fast becoming a distant memory.
Fresh coffee and croissants for
breakfast, feeding the hens in the warm evening light; Emmy starts to feel
quite at home. But it would be madness to walk away from her friends, family,
and everything she’s ever worked for, to take a chance on a place she fell for
on holiday – wouldn’t it?
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Where are you from?
I was born and brought up in
Yorkshire, not far from Leeds, and I now live a few miles from Ilkley with my
husband, two almost-adults and a Jekyll and Hyde cat. It's only a train ride
into Leeds, or a short car drive in the other direction to get out into the
beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Best of all worlds!
List 3 interesting facts about yourself.
I’ll cry at anything – I’m
hopeless. My husband has to vet my TV viewing.
I’m a Virgo with an Aquarius
ascendant (someone once drew up my astrology chart). So basically I’m
self-critical and pedantic, with a creative rebellious streak. Not an easy
combination to live with!
I love watching old TV shows
from the 1970s and 80s – they take me right back to my child-and-teenhood! Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files, Starsky
& Hutch, Magnum P.I., Cagney & Lacey …
What was the first thing you ever had published?
Warm Hearts in Winter,
a ‘sweet’ romance, was published by a U.S. digital press about eighteen months
ago.
Do you have a writing routine?
I’m still working on that one! I
finally gave up my job at Christmas, for all sorts of reasons but partly
because I was hoping to concentrate more on my writing. I’m still adjusting to
that, and I don’t have a specific daily ‘regime’ yet. I’m sure I should have!
But I do like to get any admin, e-mails etc. out of the way before I do any
writing.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Mid-morning, I savour the one
‘proper’ coffee I allow myself each day. Then
I can start thinking about being creative.
Where did the idea for your most recent book come from?
I’d had the opening scene for The Little French Guesthouse in my mind
for years – how would someone feel if they caught their boyfriend with an older woman rather than a younger woman?
- but I wasn’t doing any writing at the time (young family, no time, too
tired!) Then, one summer, we were on holiday in a gîte in France, and I suddenly
thought, ‘This is it! This is where that scene takes place!’ Once I could
picture the setting in my mind, I was desperate to get that opening scene down
on paper, so I started writing again . . . and the creative floodgates
reopened.
Who was the first person you shared your book with?
My husband. I was worried he
wouldn’t like it – after all, it isn’t the kind of genre he usually reads – but
he genuinely enjoyed it and kept asking me if he could have the next chapter
yet!
Do you have a current work in progress?
I’m currently working on the
sequel to The Little French Guesthouse –
further dilemmas and shenanigans for Emmy, Alain, Rupert and friends!
Do you have any advice for budding authors?
Believe in your work, but be
honest with yourself about your weaknesses and try to improve on them. Also,
know that getting published doesn’t end when you get a contract – there’s a
whole world of marketing, social media, blogging etc. that goes with it. Don’t
let that put you off - but it helps to know what you’re letting yourself in
for.
About the Author
As a child, Helen had a vivid
imagination fuelled by her love of reading, so she started to create her own
stories in a notebook.
She still prefers fictional
worlds to real life, believes characterisation is the key to a successful book,
and enjoys infusing her writing with humour and heart.
When she's not writing, Helen
enjoys reading, decent coffee, scrapbooking and watching old seventies and
eighties TV shows.
Helen is a member of the
Romantic Novelists' Association.
Author links –
Thank you so much for having me on the blog!
Helen: I'm so glad to be introduced to your work. Isn't it fun writing the cougar thing! Enjoy your launch, Manning
Thank you, Manning :) Yes, the cougar thing was fun to write!