Archive for August 12th, 2009

Dorothy Koomson’s next novel, The Ice Cream Girls, is due for release on 18th February 2010 and you can now read the first chapter on her website - click here to read it (you will have to register, but it’s free!) The Ice-Cream Girls sounds fab and I can’t wait to read it:

As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again . . .

Colette Caddle’s 10th novel will be called The Secrets We Keep and will be released on the 29th April 2010. I’ve only read a few of Colette’s novels but I really enjoyed Red Letter Day! The synopsis for The Secrets We Keep reads:

Four years ago Erin Joyce left Dublin under a cloud and bought a guesthouse in the remote, beautiful village of Dunbarra. The Gatehouse attracts a strange clutch of guests who, once ensconced, never want to leave. There’s Hazel, a shy artist, and her sweet, silent daughter Gracie. Sandra, a brash American, wants to know everything about everyone. Then there’s wise old easy-going PJ, who’s seemingly part of the furniture. But Erin’s fragile happiness is thrown off-balance by the arrival of A-list Hollywood actor Sebastian Grey.

Erin finds herself drawn to this handsome enigmatic man, who used to walk with a swagger but now prowls the country lanes with haunted eyes. What trauma could have brought about this devastating change? Sebastian isn’t the only one in the Gatehouse with a secret. Why is Hazel cast so adrift? Where does PJ go each week without fail, and what really brought Sandra to Dunbarra? As Erin finds herself embroiled in her guests’ secrets she starts to ask herself: will she be ready to reveal her own?

Sheila O’Flanagan, one of Ireland’s best authors, has been writing books since 1999 when her first title Suddenly Single was published. 10 years and 15 books later, Sheila’s new book The Perfect Man is due for release next month in the UK (September 2009), and the paperback of her 14th novel Someone Special (which I loved!) shot to the top of the UK bestseller’s list! We had a chance to ask Sheila some of our burning questions, and she was lovely enough to answer them for us. So here is the our author interview with the lovely Sheila O’Flanagan!

Q1. Tell us about your latest book in a sentence.

Romy is very happy working in Australia and away from her difficult extended family, but having to come back to Ireland to take care of her mother after an operation means that the problems she’d left behind have to be dealt with.

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Jessica Taylor was happily walking her dogs and meeting a nice man when she was struck by lightning and life as she knew it changed beyond belief. When Jessica wakes up, she finds she is now Lauren, a mother of four and married to Grant, whether she likes or not. She’s not sure if it’s a dream, but when she goes to bed as Lauren, she wakes up as Jessica. She soon comes to realise that she is living both lives - she’s Lauren when Jessica sleeps, and vice-versa.

As she settles into the life of Lauren, Jessica starts finding out things about Lauren that she doesn’t like, things that might tear her new family apart. Will she be able to keep up with living 2 lives, or is she going to ruin both without meaning to? Can Jessica convince anyone of her dilemma, or is the magic just for her?

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Although I haven’t heard of her, Melanie La’Brooy is back in September with her 4th novel. Published by Piatkus on 3rd September, Babymoon looks to be a funny look at impending motherhood, and sounds like one I will really enjoy! Here’s the synopsis:

“The countdown to mummydom has started …Isabelle and Jack are expecting their first child. And Isabelle is the very model of a calm Earth Mother-to-be. Or she would be if she wasn’t consumed by anxiety about finding her pelvic floor, watching birthing videos or being accepted into the yummy mummy parade with a very practical mobility system. Even worse, as Isabelle’s tummy grows, so does the distance between her and her adored Dr Jack who, it seems, has quite different priorities. But with the support of a host of new mothers and friends all full of the worst possible advice, just maybe Isabelle can make it through pregnancy and childbirth with her dignity, her relationship and some more private bits intact. Then again, maybe not.”