Ivy lane blog tour with Giveaway!

Cathy Bramley has very kindly written an exclusive guest post for me. Thanks so much Cathy! I am currently in the middle of reading Ivy Lane and Love it! 


Ivy Lane Winter – The Cosy Conclusion To My Seasonal Series by Cathy 

Writing my Ivy Lane series has been such a treat. The series follows a year on the allotment, as Tilly Parker takes on a neglected plot in order to create a new start and a new life for herself. Each part of the story has brought me joy, but perhaps the part which has been the most special is Ivy Lane Winter, the fourth and final part.

Each seasonal story has a theme and the storyline takes the reader through to a mini conclusion of that part, so that although the reader knows that there is an overarching story, there is a resolution of sorts. The theme of Spring is friendship, Summer is about romance and the theme of trust permeates throughout Autumn. By Autumn, Tilly has learned to trust her friends and her own instincts and eventually reveals her painful past. This meant that in Winter, which has the theme of hope, I could move Tilly forward towards a brighter future, the promise of love and attempt to bring about happy ending to the whole series.

There is something magical about writing a story set against a wintry backdrop. I don’t know whether it’s the starry nights, the fairy lights twinkling in windows or the overall festive cheer which seemed to fill Tilly’s story during this part, but whatever it is, it made my spine tingle and my eyes fill up with tears on many an occasion.

Readers are at the heart of everything I do and the reaction I have had on email, Facebook, and Twitter, to Tilly’s story has been completely overwhelming. As soon as each part of the series has been published, I’ve waited with baited breath as comments and reviews have appeared online.

Coming to the end of writing the series was sad and I know that readers feel the same way too; I’d grown to love so many of the Ivy Lane community that I didn’t want to say goodbye. But as I began to write part four, something unexpected happened: a new character appeared out of nowhere. I plan my novels in quite some detail, but even so, my characters constantly surprise me and one of the surprises in Winter was the arrival of Freya Moorcroft as a waitress in the café. I adored her immediately and wanted to know more about her.

A few weeks after I’d handed Ivy Lane over to my publisher, an idea for a brand new serial occurred to me featuring Freya as its main character. So although the new series, Appleby Farm, is stand-alone, the magic of Ivy Lane continues. It’s not goodbye to all my Ivy Lane friends, it is simply au revoir. And that, I’ve decided, is a much happier way to finish the series!

I have been lucky enough to be able to offer an international giveaway, all you need to do is enter via the rafflecopter below. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway