Archive for November, 2009

After her brother, Patrick, dies in a tragic accident, Grace O’Brien finds that her life is spiralling out of control. Things come to a head when, after a night out, Grace wakes up the next morning besides Bernard O’Malley, the newewst member at the firm where Grace works. Matters are made worse because Grace is actually in a long-distance relationship with Shane.

As Grace tries to forget about her one-night stand with Bernard, she finds herself more and more attracted to him. Grace also tries to forget about what happened in Spain, can she find the strength to move on?

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Author Lucy Dillon first came to my attention when I read her brilliant debut novel The Ballroom Class and loved it. Since then, I’ve been waiting for a new release from her, and it’s finally (almost!) here. Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts is due out on 26th November, and looks like a fabulous read… it even made it onto our Winters Warmers list! Lucy was kind enough to grant us an interview, so have a read to get an insight into Lucy and her life!

1. Tell us about your latest book.

My latest book, Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts, is set in Longhampton’s dilapidated dog rescue, and is the story of broken-hearted Rachel’s mission to pair up her late aunt’s collection of waifs and strays with new owners. Rachel starts off her rehoming drive just to get the rescue emptied, so she can sell Dot’s house and move on, but by the end of the novel she’s discovered that there was much more mystery in Dot’s life than her family ever realised, and that her real future - and a real love - might lie in a very unexpected place. You don’t have to like dogs to enjoy the story - there’s a big cast of friends juggling romances, dramas and laughs - but it’s the sweet, silent unconditional love between Rachel and her aunt’s faithful collie, Gem, that made me cry (and smile!) most when I was writing it.

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Megan Crane’s second novel Everyone Else’s Girl came out in the US in 2005 but is only just coming out in the UK. It’s due for release on 18th February 2010 through Quercus Publishing and sounds fantastic:

Exactly ten days after I’d come back to care for my dad, it occurred to me that I had turned into a housewife. Not just any housewife. My mother. Kill me now…

Meredith does things for other people. She irons clothes for her boyfriend, she attends her ex-best friend’s horrendous hen party for her brother (who’s about to marry the girl) and she moves back to her parents’ house to look after her dad when his leg is broken. She’s a good girl and that matters. But when she gets back home, all is not as Meredith remembered.

Especially Scott, that geeky teenager from her old class at school. He’s definitely different now. And so, it seems, is she. One by one, her family and old friends start to tell her some home truths and Meredith begins to realise she’s not so perfect after all. Maybe it is time she stopped being everyone else’s girl and started living for herself…

The residents of 66 Star Street in Dublin are all being watched… but by what? Maeve and Matt seem happy enough to anybody looking in, but behind the facade is a truth that neither of them wants to be made public. Katie and Conall have a love/hate relationship, but how will the arrival of TVgardener Fionn affect their relationship?

Lydia lives with Polish men Andrei and Jan, but can’t stand either of them… not to mention the problems Lydia is having with her own mother as well. And Jemima lives with her lovely dog Gurudge, but is sure she feels the presence of something hanging around the house of 66 Star Street. Just what, or who, is watching these people? And will the secrets that bind them ever come out?

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Thanks to the wonderful people at Transworld we have five copies of Anna Davis’s new book The Jewel Box to give away. You can read Chloe’s review of the book here. The competition is open to UK residents only and the first five correct answers will win a copy of the book. All you have to do to win a copy of this fantastic book is to answer this simple question: What is Grace Rutherford’s job in The Jewel Box? Send all your answers into [email protected] and we’ll notify you if you on the 1st December to tell you if you’ve won! Here is the synopsis for The Jewel Box for those interested:

Grace Rutherford is the one and only Diamond Sharp, the ‘It’ girl of 1920s London, whose weekly newspaper column delights readers with tales of her nightly escapades: the dinners, the dancing, the hairdos, the fashion, the men…Caught up in the glitz and glamour of the day, Grace begins a passionate affair with charming, flirtatious American author Dexter O’Connell. Soon, though, she finds herself falling for John Cramer, the charismatic neighbour her widowed younger sister adores. Irresistably drawn to both men, Grace discovers that they are bitter enemies. As she becomes tangled up in the mesh of secrets and lies that binds them together, she must try to find out which man, if either, she can trust.

The rather fantastic Elizabeth Noble has her next book, The Way We Were, due out in May 2010 and sounds like another compelling read which will also make us all cry! I have to say that I adore the book cover and can’t wait to see it properly:

Susannah and Rob were childhood sweethearts. But as with most early love affairs, they broke up, moved on and now find themselves in very different places. And not entirely happy – who is?

A chance meeting between them sends shockwaves through their lives. What happens when your first love makes a surprise reappearance? Is fate telling you it’s time for a second chance . . . or should you simply walk away and let the past become ancient history?

But Susannah and Rob don’t seem able to forget the way they were . . . and the world is about to realize the consequences of their reunion.

Izzy Keegan has just been dumped by her boyfriend of three years, Cian. Her heartbreak drives her to embarrass herself on a night out when she tries to get him back and accidentally comes across his new girlfriend Saffy.

In the months that follow, Izzy becomes something of a hermit and it’s only when her friends, Kileen & Susie, get fed up of her moping does Izzy eventually come out of hiding.

Can Izzy get over Cian or will she be able to win him back?

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There’s no synopsis for Rosy Thornton’s next book yet, but I am still really looking forward to reading this one! The Tapestry of Love is Rosy’s 4th novel, and I adored her third Crossed Wires which I’d highly recommend. The Tapesty of Love is due out on 24th September 2010, so still a long while to go but I can’t wait! I’ll update with a synopsis when one is released!