Close To Home ....About Naomi Jacob by Ian Skillicorn

As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North of England. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors and discovering just what being a Northerner means to them both in terms of inspiration and also in their writing.

Today I'm delighted to welcome Ian Skillicorn - publisher of Corazon Books to talk about

Northern Writer, Naomi Jacob

Naomi Jacob

These days, anyone under forty-something may not have heard the name Naomi Jacob. But for most of the twentieth century it adorned the spines of books on countless shelves in libraries and homes around the country. Readers loved her tales of romance and village life, as well as her family sagas and moving historical novels.

Naomi Jacob was as fascinating as any of her fictional characters. During her long life, she was a teacher, an actor, a political activist, and a broadcaster (often appearing on BBC’s Woman’s Hour). She entertained the troops during the Second World War, and helped Jewish refugees in Italy after the conflict.

But it was as an author that Jacob was best known. Her first novel, published in 1925, became a bestseller, and over the next five decades she wrote over forty novels, as well as plays and a series of autobiographies.

Jacob was a proud Yorkshire woman born and bred, and although she spent much of her life in Italy, she never forgot her northern roots. Many of her books are set in Yorkshire, and her love and respect for its people are clear from her writing. These novels feature romances between couples who have to overcome obstacles such as differences in age or class. They are full of wit and kindness, but also describe the poverty and petty prejudices of years gone by. Jacob delights in the Yorkshire people’s dialect, words of wisdom, and their no-nonsense way of looking at the world. And she isn’t afraid to deny her readers a neat, happy ending!

Another aspect of Jacob’s identity that was very important to her, was her Jewish roots. While her mother’s family had a centuries-old connection to Ripon in Yorkshire (her grandfather was the town’s mayor twice), her paternal grandfather was a Jewish refugee from Prussia. Although she was brought up in the Church of England, Jacob was proud of her Jewish heritage. In fact, arguably her most famous novels are the seven-volume Gollantz Saga, which follows several generations of a Jewish family from nineteenth century Vienna to England after the Second World War. This gripping family saga vividly describes the historical period the family lives through, but in essence it is about the universal themes of love, the importance of family and friendship, and the unintended consequences of loyalty and ambition.

Ill-health forced Jacob to move to the gentler climate of Lake Garda in Italy, where she wrote most of her novels. A very disciplined writer, she published one or two books every year of her career. She wrote until lunchtime or early afternoon, and then sat with friends in local cafés, where she would smoke cigarettes and drink grappa, speaking fluent Italian with a Yorkshire accent.

One of the main passions behind my publishing imprint, Corazon Books, is to introduce today’s readers to authors who were once household names, and to make their stories available for a new generation. While much of Naomi Jacob’s work was set in the era in which it was written, the passing of time means these novels now take on an extra layer as, to us, they become historical fiction. Jacob has much to tell us about the human spirit, and we can find the same entertainment, comfort and escape in her novels, that meant so much to her original readers, all those decades ago.

Ian Skillicorn

   

About Corazon Books

Ian Skillicorn

Corazon Books publishes bestselling fiction, specialising in romantic fiction, historical fiction and family sagas, and medical fiction. I am proud to have published new editions of works by acclaimed authors such as Catherine Gaskin, Sophie King and Naomi Jacob.

Many Corazon Books titles have reached the top of the Amazon Kindle charts, including The School Run by Sophie King (Amazon Top 10 – over 100,000 copies sold to date), The Property of a Gentleman by Catherine Gaskin (Amazon Top 25) and bestsellers in a number of genre charts; including medical (The Country Doctor by Jean McConnell), nursing (the Jane Grant series) and romantic comedy (Your Place or Mine? by Sophie King).

Corazon Books also supports new writing, with exclusive publishing competitions such as The Sophie King Prize and The Write Time competition, in association with Mature Times newspaper. In 2015, Corazon Books has published work by debut novelists Sue Shepherd (Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?) and Cath Cole (Home from Home).

Find out more about Corazon Books on their website by clicking here 

Follow on Twitter @CorazonBooks or @ian_skillicorn

Huge thanks to Ian for this fascinating post about Naomi Jacob and for all his support of Jaffareadstoo.

Close to Home is taking a break over Christmas and New Year. The feature will return on the 

7th January.

Close to Home Author will be : Paula Martin

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Close To Home .....J Carmen Smith

As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North of England. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors and discovering just what being a Northerner means to them both in terms of inspiration and also in their writing.

Today I'm delighted to welcome Northern writer

J Carmen Smith 


Talking about how her Spanish grandmother influenced her north of England roots

I know why my Spanish grandmother left her home in Santiago de Compostela, but not why she chose to emigrate to Liverpool, England, rather than Spanish-speaking Argentina, the direction many of her fellow emigrants chose. Whatever her reasons, I am grateful for her choice – otherwise I wouldn’t be here to tell the tale!

Micaela arrived in Liverpool in 1904. Looking at photographs of the city taken at the time, I wonder what her reactions were. She was 27 years of age, widowed, and had left behind parents, grandparents, and younger siblings, to make a new life in a city whose language and culture were completely alien to her. Looking at Liverpool’s magnificent – and world-renowned – waterfront now, I have to remind myself that when Micaela arrived the Three Graces were yet to be built and it would be many years before the awe-inspiring Anglican Cathedral would dominate the skyline. The concept of an ‘Anglican’ Cathedral would also be beyond her understanding and she would not live to see the Metropolitan Cathedral rise at the opposite end of Hope Street. 

Growing up knowing very little of my Spanish grandmother’s life before she arrived in Liverpool, it has taken me sixteen years to piece together Micaela’s story. Over many visits to Santiago de Compostela I have traced the houses she lived in; the churches where she and other members of her family were baptised and married; the shop where her grandfather had his hatter’s business; even the building where her artist father exhibited his paintings in the 1920s. Micaela would still recognise the city streets, except for the traffic; the houses she lived in would be just as familiar. This is not the case in Liverpool, where in the aftermath of bombs, bulldozers and modern planning, the city she lived in until her death in 1950 has changed beyond recognition. 

This is a recent photograph of the house in Santiago de Compostela where my grandmother was born in 1887 – the one with the two balconies. Of course it must have been updated internally, but the structure looks as sound today as it would have been over a century ago.

This is a recent photograph of the church – the San Pedro Apostol – where many of my ancestors were baptised and/or married:

In contrast, the church in Liverpool where my grandmother married my grandfather, a Spanish seaman, in 1907, was bomb damaged in 1941, rebuilt in the 1950s, closed in 2001 due to diminishing congregations, and finally demolished in 2004.

A photograph of Micaela and José taken after their marriage

It seems ironic that the places connected with Micaela’s life in Spain still exist, but not those in Liverpool. Contrast the street where my grandmother was born, with the one where my mother was born in October 1908; this photo was probably taken in the 1930s.

And this is a recent photograph:

The street name is still there, but most of the street has been demolished. It is one of the few areas where the original cobbles remain and I couldn’t resist walking on them – following in my grandmother’s footsteps!

A couple years ago, the Hispanic Liverpool Project was formed by Dr Kirsty Hooper, at that time head of Hispanic Studies at The University of Liverpool. The aim of this project is to ‘gather, preserve and share the forgotten stories of Liverpool’s Hispanic community’. Becoming a member of that community, meeting others with a similar background to mine, sharing family histories, enjoying social occasions, heritage walks, etc, has become an important part of my life. It has given me an insight into my Spanish roots and into the tightly-knit community of Spanish immigrants who made Liverpool their home.

Although I now live 20 miles outside Liverpool, I still have strong connections with the city and visit regularly. Great changes have taken place even in my lifetime, some for the better – of course slum housing needed to be swept away – some to be regretted, we have lost too many architectural gems in the name of progress. However, I like to think that my grandmother would have appreciated the vast improvement to the Albert Dock area, a big tourist attraction, and also the attractive Liverpool 1 shopping complex. She would still recognise St George’s Hall, the Walker Art Gallery, the World Museum and The Central Library, an area which still takes my breath away however often I visit. The river may be less crowded with ships than it was in her day but it is just as vibrant – and you can still catch a ‘Ferry Across the Mersey’!

My book Chasing Shadows is testament to the fact that my heritage is deeply rooted in two very different, magnificent, northern cities.

What a fascinating story !

Huge thanks to J Carmen Smith for her guest post about how she came to have her northern roots in the city of Liverpool and how her grandparents were such a wonderful inspiration for her book Chasing Shadows.

Thanks also to Ian at Corazon Books for his help and enthusiasm for my Close to Home Project.

Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have.. 

Coming Next Week :  Ian Skillicorn from Corazon Books will be talking about

Northern Writer : Naomi Jacobs

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Close to Home ...Cath Cole

As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North of England. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors and discovering just what being a Northerner means to them both in terms of inspiration and also in their writing.

Today I'm delighted to introduce Northern Writer

Cath Cole

Home from Home by Cath Cole

The Origins of Home from Home

Depending on the individual I am talking to or the characteristics of the group I am with, readers ask a range of questions. These questions might be as varied as: Why did you write about a group of nurses in the 1960s?  Where is Farnton? Or perhaps the most interesting – Why did you write a historical novel? The latter question from a lovely lad, young enough to be my grandson, but I hasten to add, only by the narrowest of margins. We were fellow students studying for a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. He was astounded when I told him that the novel was very loosely based on my lived experience. He told me he would never have guessed I was SO very old. He emailed me recently to tell me he had bought a copy of "Home from Home" as a birthday present for his grandma.

Why did I write about a group of nurses training in the late 1960s? The three years of State Registered Nurse (SRN) training and the twenty months prior to training spent as a nursing cadet were a catalyst for me. I was utterly changed by the experiences of being both a cadet and a student nurse. I left school, at sixteen, a naïve girl from a working class background, university was never an option for me, the Infirmary was my best option for a qualification and a career. By the time I qualified as a SRN aged twenty-one I was a more sophisticated girl. The feeling of belonging and self-worth I gained through hard, sometimes gruelling work, friendships and discipline as well as the camaraderie needed to rise above the sometimes petty rules and necessary strict discipline underpinned the successful professional life I subsequently enjoyed. In addition, one of my nursing friends insisted I accompany her to a family party where she introduced me to her cousin who has been my husband for a very long time. The story of our meeting is played out in the novel.

Farnton is a corruption of Farnworth and Bolton. I was reluctant to use the actual names of the towns and names of restaurants, cafes and shops for fear of criticism that I had misrepresented reality. In my second novel I have thrown caution to the wind, actual names of villages, towns, pubs and shops abound. I was also concerned that if Bolton General Hospital and Bolton Royal Infirmary were used, readers, aware of the two hospitals, might be tempted to attribute the characters to real people. Which one of the girls are you? Is a frequently asked question. The answer is none of them, although some of the incidents reflect my experiences.

Another reason, and one I do not always admit to, is that writing about training to be a nurse in time of huge social and cultural change means I have left something behind for my grandchildren. A record of a different time, a time without sophisticated technology. A time when the social order was more clearly defined. A time of simple pleasures yet a time of revolution led by young people. A time when the old post war values were challenged and different voices began to be heard. And best of all a time of the greatest music ever.

Cath Cole

Corazon Books
2015

Home from Home: The lives and loves of five nurses in the 1960s

A touching, bold and, at times, amusing account of the lives and loves of five trainee nurses in the 1960s.

Home from Home is the true-to-life, moving story of five student nurses in the 1960s. Twice a bestseller on Amazon's medical fiction chart!

The lives of Theresa, Maggie, Jenny, Sarah and Chris are about to change forever as they start their nurse training at The School of Nursing at Farnton General.

They soon realise that they have much to learn about life, both on and off the hospital wards. A strong bond is formed as the young women face the challenges presented by families, boyfriends and their nursing responsibilities.

Friendships are tested as the young nurses experience the joys and heartbreaks of growing up. But for each of them, for different reasons, the hospital will become a home from home.

Amazon UK

Author Website click here

My thanks to Cath for sharing her thoughts about the writing of Home from Home and what it means to her.

 I trained as a nurse in the 1970s so a lot of what Cath says resonates with me.

Huge thanks also to Ian at Corazon Books for his enthusiasm for my Close to Home feature

I hope you have enjoyed this week's Featured Author

Coming next week : J Carmen Smith 

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My guest author today is ...Sue Shepherd

I'm thrilled to be able to welcome best selling author, Sue Shepherd back to the blog 

 Sue's Latest novel, Love Them and Leave Them is out now

Corazon Books
27 September 2016

A bit of blurb..

Love Them and Leave Them: Sometimes you have to leave the one you love … sometimes you’re the one who’s left behind. The new heartwarming and heartbreaking romantic comedy from the No.1 bestselling author of Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?

On his way home, Ed makes a split-second decision that changes the lives of all those who love him.

Six years on, Ed’s daughter, Jessie, is stuck in a job with no prospects, her dreams never fulfilled. It will take more than her unreliable boyfriend, Chris, and temperamental best friend, Coco, to give her the confidence to get her life back on track.

But what if Ed had made another decision? It could all have been so different …

Six years on, Ed’s daughter, Jessica, has a successful career, loving boyfriend, Nick, and a keen eye on her dream home. But when new clients, a temperamental Coco, and her unreliable boyfriend, Chris, walk into her life, Jessica’s perfect world soon starts to unravel.

Love Them and Leave Them is a story of love, families, friendship and a world of possibilities. Whichever decision Ed makes, the same people are destined to come into his daughter’s life, sometimes in delightfully different ways. And before they can look forward to the future, they will all have to deal with the mistakes of the past.

Another Us by Sue Shepherd

My second novel, ‘Love Them and Leave Them’ explores two possible outcomes of one split-second decision. I have to say, I am rather gripped by the concept that when we make these choices, we somehow create a parallel. It’s intriguing to think that there may be another me, living a different life.

As a family, a few years ago, we chose to up sticks and move to the Isle of Wight. It was a huge decision for us and it changed our children’s lives forever. But what if (yep I said it, I’m sorry, but sometimes it’s just the best phrase available), what if somewhere in a parallel world there are two other boys who didn’t move here? A different version of our children who are still growing up in our old house, who have different friends, who go to different schools, and who know nothing of our life by the sea.  I wonder - are they happy too?

Equally thought provoking is the possibility that somewhere there’s a version of me who simply never finished writing her first novel. God knows I put it down and picked it up a million times when my children were younger and time was short. Is there a me somewhere who doesn’t know the joy I now know of finishing a book and presenting it to the world? (Actually that bit is damn scary, but … you get the idea.)

George Michael sang of turning a different corner and never meeting the right person. How fascinating, how frightening. Are our lives really that fragile? My husband and I met through a similar chance, a decision made by someone I didn’t actually know caused me to change my plans. Those plans ultimately lead to me meeting the man who has loved me (and snored next to me) for 20 years. Surely that’s nuts, isn’t it? If I hadn’t met him, would I be with someone else right now? Would I be saying, ‘I can’t imagine my life without Fred in it!’ You can tell I’ve really given this whole phenomenon some thought, can’t you?

Ultimately, we are who we are, and we do our best. As much as I’m rattling on about it, and inviting you to think about the possibility that there could be another you, living an alternative life, in another part of the world, it really wouldn’t do to spend every moment wondering what we could’ve done differently. Regrets are pointless, they don’t allow us to move on. So I guess I’m saying we have to simply do what feels right at the time and then live with the consequences. We can rest assured that’s probably what the other us is doing right now too!

© by Sue Shepherd

More about Sue can be found on her website by clicking here

Follow on Twitter @thatsueshepherd

Find on Amazon UK

My thanks to Sue for this lovely guest post and also to Ian at Corazon Books

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Blog Tour ~ The Ruby Ring by Grace Macdonald

Corazon Books
22 February 2016

A spellbinding timeslip story of two young women, each with a secret. A ring unites them, a century divides them. An international bestseller, set in a seaside town in Devon in Victorian times and the present day.

After a whirlwind romance, Laura Marchmont marries the charming Charles Haywood. Leaving her old life behind, she struggles to fit into Charles’s world, and to be accepted by his young daughters from his first marriage. Laura also hides a terrible secret from her new husband, which casts a shadow over her life. Then, she discovers the story of a young girl who lived more than a century before. Laura is compelled to uncover the fate of Mary Rose.

1886. When Mary Rose Marchmont’s widowed father remarries it signals the end of her childhood. A series of tragic events leads Mary Rose to be accused of a shocking crime, after which her life will never be the same again.

A moving family story of history, romance and secrets.

Grace Macdonald is a pen name of the hugely popular romantic fiction author Sophie King.

HOW I DID MY HISTORICAL RESEARCH FOR ‘THE RUBY RING’ 

by 

GRACE MACDONALD

When I first started writing, I didn’t see myself as an historical writer, partly because I was daunted by the prospect of research. How could I make sure I got something right? My background is in journalism and, contrary to what you might read, most journalists try very hard to be accurate. But how could I know exactly went on in the past? After all, I hadn’t been there. I was also aware that some of my readers might well be experts in a particular period. If I got it wrong, I knew they wouldn’t be happy. And quite right too.

Then I went to a talk by a successful historical writer who pointed out that emotions don’t change over the years. We feel fear and happiness; worry and love; rejection and uncertainty, just as the generations before us did. We might be concerned about different things (smallpox has been replaced by more modern illnesses) but the deep-down feelings are still the same. So I could simply transfer the emotions of a modern-day heroine (or myself) into my characters.

But that still didn’t solve the problem of knowing how the world worked at the time of my novels. What was going on? How did people speak? How did they dress? The answer, I decided, was to pick a period of time where you could find out these facts fairly easily. I’ve always been fascinated by the late Victorian period, partly because I did it during my History A-level. I also had a great aunt who was born at the turn of the century who told some extraordinary stories to me when I was young. Luckily I remembered them.

I set about reading as much as I could about the 1860s onwards. Politics. Fashion. Religion. Laws relating to women’s control over property and children. And so on. At the same time, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. Journalists are used to writing about things that have really happened. So I wanted to base my novel on a real-life event. My second husband and I moved to the south west a few years ago and one of our local beauty spots is a lovely garden open to the public. It used to belong to a house that has since been demolished. In the gardens is a plaque describing how the owner of the house had had a daughter. She was accused of murdering her half-brother and was sent to prison for many years. On her release, she went to Australia.

The story fired my imagination. What if she was innocent? Supposing a mistake had been made? The real-life event had actually happened early in the nineteenth century but I shifted it to the 1860s through to the 1900s. Part of my plot involved Victorian prisons where my heroine was sentenced. So I rang up the local council and, after several more calls, found myself in the local archives centre. There I was actually allowed to look through huge albums - so big that I was given a pillow to prop them up on the desk. Inside was picture after picture of Victorian female inmates who were, apparently, always photographed when they came into prison.

It made for tragic reading. Some were sentenced for no more than stealing a loaf of bread. Their pictures pleaded with me. Tell my story. Mix it with the truth. Make people understand what we went through. One little girl in particular stared out at me. She had a half-smile. Was it defiance? Or nerves? The latter, I felt. But the danger was that it might have been read as being ‘difficult.’

It was then I knew I’d found my heroine.

You can read all about her in THE RUBY RING. I hope you like her. 

Meanwhile, I’m back off to the library to research the next historical ...

Corazon Books

Amazon UK

 Huge thanks to Grace Macdonald for this insightful guest post and to Corazon books for my review copy of The Ruby Ring.



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**Cover Reveal**.... A Tale of Two Sisters by Gabrielle Mullarkey

Today, I am delighted to be revealing the cover

of

A Tale of Two Sisters

by

Gabrielle Mullarkey

Corazon Books
14 March 2016

Bottom line - you don't steal your sister's boyfriend

Katie's sister Flick is a mean girl. Whatever Katie has, Flick wants for herself. And she'll take it just to prove she can. That's why she stole Katie's boyfriend, Steve, then dumped him two weeks later.

Now Katie is with Jack, and Flick is with Dan, so there's no need for more sibling rivalry ... but love and life between sisters is never that simple. If Katie and Dan hadn't drunk too much that night, and if Flick didn't make Katie so mad, maybe it would never have happened ... if only Katie could remember exactly what had happened ...

A Tale of Two Sisters is a witty, heartwarming tale of romance, jealousy, the family we love, and the family we love to hate.

Amazon UK

Praise for Gabrielle Mullarkey:

"Readers love Gabrielle’s fiction for its range – whether atmospheric mood pieces or contemporary slices of life, all revolve around imaginatively twisty plots packed with sassy dialogue, characters you feel you know and ‘I didn’t see that coming!’ moments." best

About the author

Gabrielle Mullarkey is a novelist, short story writer and freelance journalist who's never short of an opinion, especially if an editor requires it at short notice. Her stories regularly appear in women's magazines, ranging in content from romance to supernatural thrillers, while her novels combine twisty plots with wry humour and a readiness to tackle big subjects.

Visit her website

Follow her on Twitter @authorgabrielle

A Tale of Two Sisters will be published on the 14th March by Corazon Books

My thanks to Corazon Books for the chance to share this cover reveal. 

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My guest author is Mary Rensten......

I am delighted to welcome 

Mary Rensten 

author of

Letters from Malta

Corazon Books
June 2015

The perfect summer holiday read.

When Jane Thornfield finds an envelope hidden in her mother's bedroom drawer it heralds the beginning of a journey of discovery. Long buried family secrets are unearthed and Jane is forced to question her very identity.

Jane's search for the truth takes her to Malta, where she learns about the harsh realities of life during the Siege of Malta in the Second World War. But her attempts to unlock a fifty-year-old secret are met with suspicion and a wall of silence.

Letters from Malta is about a woman's quest to make sense of her present and her past. The setting of Malta is brought vividly to life in this moving, perceptive tale of love and loss.

"The story sweeps you along and the characters are so real." Suzannah Dunn, best-selling historical novelist (The Sixth Wife, The May Bride)

"I couldn't put this down. I couldn't wait to find out what had happened in Malta 60 years ago." Meg Alexander, romantic novelist

"It has just the right combination of drama, humour, romance and intrigue to make it perfect reading at home or on holiday." TAR Entertainment

Amazon UK

Mary shares with us ten interesting facts about Malta and its history:

        

1. The George Cross was awarded to Malta in 1942 by King George VI, to ‘bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people’ during the Great Siege in WWII, when the population came close to starvation, but did not surrender. You can see the Cross and the King’s message in the War Museum in Valletta, as my character Ken in Letters from Malta did. ‘You can’t come to Malta, and not see the George Cross,’ he said.

2. Wine has been produced in Malta for over 2000 years … and today’s wines are very good; I know, I’ve tasted them!  In Letters from Malta, Jane and Carmela drink some at lunch in the hotel, and Jane learns that Maltese wines have just won prizes in an international competition.

3. Joseph Calleja, known as ‘The Maltese Tenor’, is one of the world’s top tenors. His Rodolfo in ‘La Boheme’ is stunning. What a voice … and he’s good-looking, too! He was born in Attard, which is not far from Mdina, in 1978; at 19 he made his operatic debut in Malta’s sister island Gozo.

Joseph Calleja by Paul Zammit Cutajar © viewingmalta.com

4.The Maltese language, called Malti in Maltese, is descended from an Arabic dialect that developed in Sicily. It is one of the official languages of the European Union. Jane has little chance of trying out her few words of Maltese, because nearly everyone in Malta speaks English, but she does manage to say one word: Sahha, which can mean ‘Goodbye’ or ‘Cheers!’

5.The Knights of St. John ruled Malta from the 16th century until the island was conquered by Napoleon in 1798. The Knights, whose name and emblem, the Maltese Cross, are known to us today through the wonderful St.John’s Ambulance Brigade, made Malta an important centre of learning and art. Their main Hospital had schools of Anatomy, Surgery and Pharmacy; they established a Public Library and a school of Mathematics.

6.The 2004 blockbuster, Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, was shot here and parts of the film were set in Mellieha. Tom Hanks’ 2013 movie, Captain Phillips, was filmed here, and the same year the BBC also used the waters around Malta to shoot The Whale, which tells the story behind Moby Dick.

7.Until a few years ago, the tiny island of Comino, between Malta and Gozo – you may know it; it has a posh hotel! – produced some of the finest bacon in the world. (I ate some in 1995 … as did characters in my book!) I think the pig farm there may have closed now, but Maltese bacon is still very good!

8.If you’re keen on archaeology, Malta will have you in heaven! Ancient cart tracks, Neolithic remains, caves, temple ruins, statues of goddesses … it has them all, in situ and in museums.

Hagar Qim by Mario Galea © viewingmalta.com

9..Malta has few trees … of the kind for making coffins, so during WWII, when wood could not be imported, many of them were made of tin, recycled oil drums and large NAAFI biscuit tins from the air bases. They creaked scarily when they were carried!

10.In 1608 the artist Caravaggio painted his largest altar-piece here; it hangs in St.John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, where Caravaggio, known also for his wild life-style, was a knight.

Caravaggio altarpiece, Beheading of John the Baptist by Clive Vella © viewingmalta.com

Huge thanks to Mary for sharing such interesting facts about Malta and to Ian at Corazon for his help in organising this post.

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Today my guest author is...Ali Chrisp

I am delighted to welcome Ali  to Jaffareadstoo

Ali Chrisp

IS YOUR PET A GOOD WRITING COMPANION?

From the age of three I have always had pets, and when I started writing Home Comforts I couldn’t contemplate creating the characters without including a few furry friends. In the book, Jo and her son, Tom own a large ginger and white cat, a border terrier, a three-legged rabbit and two guinea pigs, which are based mainly on pets that I’ve owned.

Since joining Twitter I’ve noticed that many authors state in their  profiles that they ‘love cats’ or ‘love dogs’; a few others declare a passion for guinea pigs and rabbits, and it made me wonder how these much-loved animals affect their owners’ writing habits.  Are they a help or a hindrance? Last year we bought our first dog, Lola the labradoodle, and we also own a feisty tabby cat called Winnie. Both of them are valued members of the family and, in my experience, have a very positive influence on my writing as well as other areas of my life.

Every morning, whatever the weather, Lola has to have a long walk, so lounging around in my dressing gown and procrastinating are not on the agenda. Instead, I get plenty of exercise and fresh air to kick-start my day and improve my motivation. Writing can be a bit isolating so a quick natter with other walkers is fun and gets my thoughts flowing. Sometimes I have my most creative ideas when I’m out marching through the fields and have to scribble them down as soon as I get home.

When I’m writing, Lola is great company and cocks her head on one side attentively when I am muttering to myself or reading parts of my manuscript out loud. Unlike Winnie, she has a short attention span and wants to be let in and out a lot more.  I think of this as a positive, however, because it forces me to get up and move around as recommended by my back surgeon! Always the clown, Lola can certainly relieve any boredom, but can also be distracting if she keeps plonking a slobbery ball or other toy in my lap. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any positive aspects to the bad smells she makes but it’s a small price to pay!

Winnie tends to fulfil a slightly different role because she is so relaxing. Who needs meditation when you can listen to the loud, steady purr of a contented cat or stroke its soft, silky fur? Whatever mood I’m in, I’m always cheered up by her miaowed greetings and her small furry body weaving around my ankles. Once I settle down to write, she curls up into a beautiful little ball and stays like that for several hours; I only have to glance at her to feel at peace. Sometimes it can be a bit too relaxing and I have to fight the urge to nod off! On the other hand, I soon liven up when she wakes up and pads across my keyboard, typing gobbledegook and causing me to lose any unsaved work.

At times she can be distracting, especially when she paddles defiantly at the window until I get up and let her in.  I wouldn’t mind, but she’s got a perfectly good cat flap. Her unexpected absences can also affect me - if she hasn’t put in an appearance for breakfast, I find it difficult to concentrate until I see her trotting across the front lawn and hear her announcing her arrival.

I have only scratched the surface of whether Lola and Winnie make good writing companions, but in a nutshell they certainly have a positive impact on my physical and mental well being, and provide me with entertainment, comfort and inspiration.  I’d be interested in hearing about your own experiences, whatever type of animal you own.

Lola and Winnie

Home Comforts 

Corazon Books
May 2015

A laugh-out-loud comedy about families, friendship and romance.

Jo Longford's life takes an unexpected turn when her bosses wrongly accuse her of stealing from a client. Suddenly, she needs to find a new job and a new home for herself and ten-year-old son, Tom. Not to mention their small menagerie of badly behaved pets.

Her selfish mum isn't much help; obsessed with keeping up appearances, nothing her daughter does is ever good enough for her. But at least Jo can rely on best friend Val for support. They've been getting themselves into mischief since they were teenagers, and that includes joining a cringeworthy dating agency and an eventful school reunion. Some things never change!

Life certainly doesn’t get any easier for Jo. Will she be able to fend off her sex-mad landlord – a retired businessman who struts around in Lycra and thinks he’s God’s gift to women? Are her new employer and quirky clients at the Handy Jobs Domiciliary Care Agency all they seem?

And will Jo ever be able to sort out her chaotic love life when two equally unsuitable men gatecrash her world?

Home Comforts is a heart-warming tale with a cheeky twinkle in its eye.

My thanks to Ali for this charming guest post
and to Ian at Corazon for his help with this interview.

Great Stories with Heart

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The Author in my spotlight is......Sue Shepherd

I am delighted to welcome to the blog

Sue Shepherd

Author of

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret

is

Published as an ebook 20th March 2015

Corazon

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? is a romantic comedy about three very different people, each with a secret, whose lives collide in unexpected ways. 

Steph is a harassed mum who's considering an affair with her children's sexy headmaster. Penny is trying to deal with a crush on her boss, OCD and a sad secret from her childhood. And Mike is a vicar who is being blackmailed for his secret, although it's not all that it seems! 

Meanwhile, all three are being watched over by their own guardian angels, who try to push them in the right direction and help move their lives along - but not always successfully ... 

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? is genuinely laugh out loud funny, but also deals in a sensitive way with serious problems that any of us could face in life. Sue Shepherd's debut novel is bold, it doesn't pull any punches, and it has bucket loads of heart

Welcome to Jaffareadstoo, Sue and thanks for talking to us about your debut novel ~ 

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret.

Where did the idea for Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? come from?

The idea came to me a few years ago when I took part in a creative writing course with the author, Sophie King. One night I was running late and I drove too fast through dark, country lanes. The first thing we always did on the course was to write for ten minutes about whatever came into our heads; so, that night, I wrote a short, jokey piece about an angel who wasn’t happy that she’d been given the job of watching over me as I sped along the road. From this tiny piece of ‘flash fiction’ the basis for my novel grew. Over time the angels seemed to naturally take a step back, as the main characters’ secrets took over, but they’re still an integral part of the novel.

What makes you want to write stories?

I just love writing. To me it’s like reading your favourite book, except you get to choose what happens next. When an idea comes to me for a good twist or a shocking surprise I’m often so excited I struggle to keep it to myself :-) I’m happy when I’m writing and I simply can’t imagine not doing it.

Do you write for yourself or other people?

This is an interesting question and one which I had to really think about. On the one hand I’d say I write for myself; the story plays out in my head as if it were a movie and I’m not truly content until I’ve written it all down. In fact, whilst writing Doesn’t Everyone Have A Secret? there were many occasions when, due to the demands of family life, I had to stop writing, sometimes for weeks or even months. During those times I always felt incomplete because I knew I owed it to my characters to finish writing their stories. Much like when you take a bite from a biscuit, or a sip from a mug of tea and then put it down, forgetting to finish it, and there’s a nagging voice telling you that something, somewhere is waiting for you, but you can’t remember exactly what! But, to get back to the question, who do I write for? I also think that to a certain extent I write for other people too. I have a few friends who kindly read my first couple of drafts and gave me their opinions and I really can’t say how delighted I was when they came back with positive reviews and told me they couldn’t put my work down. Knowing that people enjoy your writing, that they invest in your characters and that they truly care how the story is going to end is an amazing feeling. It makes it all the more worthwhile and, although I’m nervous about the fact that strangers are going to be reading my work, I must confess to also being excited about the possibilities.

What scares you about writing?

I don’t think anything actually scares me about writing, except perhaps the thought of not being able to do it any more. Of course, I do have a frisson of nerves when I imagine the general public reading my novel, however, the excitement surrounding this event far outweighs any concerns.

What books do you like to read?

I really like slightly quirky women’s fiction; time travel, parallel worlds, paradoxes – anything where you have to regularly check back in the book and ask, ‘How the heck did that happen?’ My favourite book is probably The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I also recently read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson and I was fully engrossed in a world of opportunities whilst reading it.

What’s next?

I’m currently 30,000 words into my second novel. Referring back to the previous question, funnily enough, this book is about parallel worlds. The story explores how a fairly insignificant decision made by one person can change another person’s life immeasurably. I’m really enjoying writing it and the few people who’ve read my ‘work in progress’ have given it the thumbs up so far. I’m amazed to watch it unfold before me, and, due to the fact that my children have grown somewhat, this novel is developing a great deal quicker than my first, so I’m hopeful it will be completed this year.

Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret? is available from 20th March as an ebook

Amazon UK
Visit Sue on her website http://www.sueshepherdwrites.co.uk/
Follow her on Twitter @thatsueshepherd

My Review

Have you ever wondered about the still small voice of calm that you sometimes hear deep within your subconscious that tells you to stop and consider your actions? Well, in Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret, Sue Shepherd explores the concept of a team of guardian angels who watch over us and who guide, cajole and beguile us into thinking we are acting for ourselves, when really they are are guiding our every move and their gentle and sometimes, not so gentle hints, quite often, steer us in a direction we had never planned to go.

Steph Stubbs, Mike Bannerman and Penny Littleton are being watched over by a team of rather special guardian angels but of course they are unaware of this which makes for an interesting and sensitively managed story which looks the vagaries of modern life and of the secrets which we keep hidden, not just from our nearest and dearest, but also sometimes from ourselves.

I really enjoyed the story and found the writing to be accomplished and warm with just the right amount of humour mixed with compassion and sensitivity. The characters are nicely drawn so that they seem believable, rather like people you would like if you met them in the street, and as you read about them you start to care about what happens and hope that everything turns out right for them. I enjoyed their individual stories, their problems could be something we have all faced at one time or another, and it was good to see how everything played out for them.

I think that this is a commendable debut novel and I am sure that the author will continue to go from strength to strength.

My thanks to Corazon Books for the ecopy of this novel and to Sue for giving so generously of her time.

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