Posts Tagged ‘Author of the Week’

This weeks Author of the Week is the great chick-lit/bonkbuster(!) author Tilly Bagshawe. I’ve read 3 of Tilly’s books now and they are incredibly readable, and absorb you in within just a few pages so she’s well worth checking out if you haven’t already! Tilly obviously has writing in the blood because her sister is fellow author Louise Bagshawe who featured as our Author of the Week a few months ago, and both sisters are equally great at what they do.

Tilly’s first novel Adored was released in 2004, and was one I read before I started reviewing. It was fantastic and quite unlike anything else I had read at that point. Since then she has released Showdown (the only book I haven’t read of Tilly’s), Do Not Disturb and Flawless. Tilly also wrote the sequel to Sidney Sheldon’s Master of the Game which was called Mistress of the Game and has been very well received by fans of both authors. Here’s about Tilly:

“Tilly Bagshawe went to Cambridge at the age of eighteen with her ten-month-old daughter in tow. At 26, she was the youngest ever partner in one of the world’s most prestigious headhunting firms. Tilly is married and divides her time between LA and London.”

Tilly’s next projects include novel Scandalous which is due in 2010, and also another Sidney Sheldon book which is titled Sidney Sheldon’s After The Darkness, so she’s been very busy! If you enjoy really fun and gritty chick lit, or you’ve read and enjoyed Louise Bagshawe’s work, then I can definitely recommend Tilly’s books to you. They’re fun, sexy and brilliant reads… what more could you ask for?!

This week’s Author of the Week is the lovely Claire Allan. Claire is another of Ireland’s great Chick-lit authors and came to my attention when I was sent her second novel Feels Like Maybe to review by her publishers, Poolbeg. I adored it, and eagerly awaited the next of Claire’s books, Jumping In Puddles which I read quickly and loved even more than her previous book! Claire has the knack for writing realistic characters that you care about, and stories that are gritty and real, with emotions that you can relate to. Here’s a bit about Claire from her website:

“I’m from Derry in Northern Ireland, which is sometimes known as Londonderry, but let’s not all get political. I work as a reporter for the Derry Journal. I’ve worked there since 1999 and I really enjoy that I get to meet lots of people. share their stories and actually get paid to write for a living! Five years ago I started writing a weekly column called ‘Skirting the Issue’ which made me the first female columnist in the history of the paper. I was and am very proud of that! Apart from writing the majority of my time is spent with my son Joseph who is 5, and our new baby daughter Cara. That’s plenty enough to keep anyone busy!”

Claire doesn’t seem to be well heard of over here in England, so I hope by featuring her as our Author of the Week choice, more people will be tempted to picking up one of her fantastic novels. I haven’t read her debut novel Rainy Days and Tuesdays yet but I will do as soon as I can, and she also has another book coming next year which I await eagerly! I love Claire Allan’s work and think she is definitely a huge talent in the chick-lit market so pick up one of her books if you can!

Sophie King is one of those authors that doesn’t seem to get all that much publicity in the “chick lit” world which is a shame because she’s a fab writer! Her real name is Jane Bidder and she’s a journalist, but under the name of Sophie King, she’s written 5 fabulous novels of which I’ve read them all and loved each. Here’s a bit about Sophie from her website:

“Sophie King’s books are aimed at teenagers, mums and grans or anyone else who can identify with a chaotic family life. Sophie has three children, a dog, a cat and a sleepy terrapin – all of whom make her laugh or cry, depending on how she feels

Sophie has a pen name to distinguish her novels from her journalism. As Jane Bidder, she has written for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, My Weekly, Good Housekeeping and many other national publications.”

Sophie King’s books first came to my attention when I read Mums @ Home many years ago, before I started reviewing and I loved it. I then read Second Time Lucky and was hooked on her books. My favourite of Sophie’s books has to be The Supper Club, a fabulous read about a group of friends and their woes. Her latest book is The Wedding Party and is also a good read. There’s no news of a 6th book yet but I’m hopeful there will be! If you haven’t yet discovered Sophie’s books, please try them - they’re fab!

This week’s Author of the Week is Julia Williams. I read Julia’s debut book Pastures New a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so she quickly became an author to watch for me! Leah read and enjoyed Julia’s second book Strictly Love based around ballroom dancing, and Julia also has a third book due out at the end of this month called Last Christmas. Here’s a bit about Julia from her website:

“Julia grew up in North London, one of eight children, including a twin sister who also writes. She attended St Michael’s Grammar School, before going to Liverpool University to study English. While at university she met her husband, David, a dentist. They have four children and live in Surrey.

After leaving Liverpool, Julia went into a career in publishing, firstly in academic books (which she loathed) and then into children’s books (which she still loves). Following the birth of her second baby, Julia left to start a freelance career, and decided that now was a good time to start writing.”

Julia has also written several picture books under the name Julia Moffatt which are aimed at Key Stage 1 children. Last Christmas is due out on 29th October and sounds like the perfect winter read!

You can find out more about Julia on her website: www.juliawilliamsauthor.com and follow her on Twitter too: www.twitter.com/jccwilliams

When I was at University, I began to start to read “chick-lit” properly, and one of my first ever chick lit books was Monday’s Child by Louise Bagshawe. I absolutely loved it and set about getting hold of Louise’s other books and since then I’ve been a big fan of her books. Her earlier stuff is definitely much better than her later stuff so its worth checking that out if you haven’t read any of Louise’swork before. Her latest novel Passion is a bit different to her other 11 novels, but I can’t wait to getting around to reading it. As well as being a best selling author, Louise is also a Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Corby and East Northamptonshire, so she keeps pretty busy! Her sister, Tilly Bagshawe, is also a bestselling writer and just as good as her older sister too. Here’s a bit more about Louise:

“Louise attended local Catholic schools near her family home in London, before going to Oxford University in 1989. After graduating with a degree in Anglo Saxon and Norse, Louise worked as press officer with EMI records and then as a marketing official with Sony Music.

On her 22nd birthday, Louise’s passion for writing was realised with a major publishing deal. To date, Louise has written twelve novels including a string of bestsellers. She has sold over two million books worldwide.”

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This week’s Author of the Week is none other than the hilariously funny Chris Manby. I’m a huge fan of hers and can’t wait for her next book. Her biog doesn’t offer up much as it’s out of date but here it is anyway:

In 1995 Chris Manby met a New York psychic who told her she would write seven novels. She has just finished her eighth. Which means she probably won’t marry that millionaire, either! Raised in Gloucestershire, Chris now lives between London and Los Angeles. Her hobbies include reading in-flight magazines and she hopes that continually crossing time zones is an effective anti-aging strategy.

My favourite of Chris’s books is probably Spa Wars, I absolutely loved it and hope to get the chance to re-read it asap so I can review it. Her latest release was Crazy In Love which Chloe has reviewed. Chris’s next book will be called Getting Over Mr. Right and is due out on the 4th February 2010 and sounds like a great read:

After more than two years together, Ashleigh is just waiting for Michael to pop the question. She’s sure she’s met her Mr Right. But Michael has other things on his mind - namely, an interior designer from Brazil with big hair and an even bigger chest. Out of the blue, Ashleigh finds she’s dumped. Via Facebook. Ashleigh is not the sort of girl to take this news lying down. Instead, she embarks on a calamitous campaign to win Michael back. She’s staking everything she’s got. She may have lost her man, but has she also lost the plot?

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This week’s Author of the Week is the lovely Veronica Henry. Veronica has been writing novels since 2002 with the release of her debut Honeycote, which would go on to the the first of a series named after the fictional town of Honeycote. The following books in the series, Making Hay and Just A Family Affair have also been big sellers - Veronica has hinted at a 4th in her interview with us which you can read here. She has also written 4 stand along novels, the latest of which was released in July called Marriage and Other Games. Here’s a bit about Veronica:

“Veronica secured a job on The Archers, where her duties ranged from organising Shula Archer’s wedding photographs with Patrick Lichfield to playing Peaches the barmaid in the Cat and Fiddle.

From there she went to Central Television to script-edit such broadcasting legends as Crossroads and Boon. She then left to have her first child and became a scriptwriter, writing hundreds of hours of broadcast television for Heartbeat, Doctors and Family Affairs amongst others. In 2000, she turned her hand to novels, using her story-lining skills to write compelling, multi-protagonist fiction. She is now a regular member of the Holby City writing team.”

I have read 2 of Veronica’s novels, Love On The Rocks, my first of Veronica’s books and I loved it! I’ve also read her latest book Marriage and Other Games, and you can read my review of it here. Veronica’s next book Starstruck is due out in 2010 and takes a look in the life of a celebrity family, and I can’t wait to read it!

You can find out more about Veronica at her website: http://veronicahenry.co.uk and you can also read our exclusive interview with her here: Veronica Henry Interview.

This week’s pick for our Author of the Week is none other than Sheila O’Flanagan. We posted our Author Interview with the lovely Sheila yesterday, and we felt she also deserved to be highlighted in our Author of the Week spot due to her brilliant contributions to the “chick-lit” genre! In 10 years, Sheila has written 15 books, with the latest of these, The Perfect Man, due out in September in the UK. I’ve read 2 of Sheila’s books, Someone Special and Anyone But Him and loved, and I know my mum highly recommends her work as well, so Sheila is another that appeals across the age ranges. Here’s a bit about Sheila:

“Sheila O’Flanagan pursued a very successful career in banking, foreign exchange dealing and treasury management before becoming a full-time writer based in Dublin. She also writes a weekly business column for the Irish Times and in her spare time plays badminton at competition level.”

Sheila’s 14 published books have all been huge sellers, and I am determined to read some of her older books as I’ve been told they are just as good as her newer book! For more information on Sheila and her books, visit her website at www.sheilaoflanagan.com