Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims

Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why Mummy Drinks is the brilliant novel from Gill Sims, the author of the online sensation Peter and Jane.

It is Mummy’s 39th birthday. She is staring down the barrel of a future of people asking if she wants to come to their advanced yoga classes, and polite book clubs where everyone claims to be tiddly after a glass of Pinot Grigio and says things like ‘Oooh gosh, are you having another glass?’

But Mummy does not want to go quietly into that good night of women with sensible haircuts who ‘live for their children’ and stand in the playground trying to trump each other with their offspring’s extracurricular activities and achievements, and boasting about their latest holidays.

Instead, she clutches a large glass of wine, muttering ‘FML’ over and over again. Until she remembers the gem of an idea she’s had…

Another observational type novel this one is about Ellen a working mum of two children Peter and Jane and husband Simon and how she struggles to bring up her children, look after her husband and house while battling guilt at not being a stay at home mum and all the insecurities it brings. It was well written with some good laugh go out loud moments, very relatable for any mum and a good light hearted read. I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting for Callback by Perdita and Honor Cargill

Waiting for Callback by Perdita and Honor Cargill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Geek Girl meets Fame meets New Girl in this brilliantly funny new series!
When Elektra is discovered by an acting agent, she imagines Oscar glory can't be far away, but instead lurches from one cringe-worthy moment to the next! Just how many times can you be rejected for the part of 'Dead Girl Number Three' without losing hope? And who knew that actors were actually supposed to be multi-lingual, play seven instruments and be trained in a variety of circus skills?
Off-stage things aren't going well either - she's fallen out with her best friend, remains firmly in the friend-zone with her crush and her parents are driving her crazy. One way or another, Elektra's life is now spent waiting for the phone to ring - waiting for callback.
Can an average girl-next-door like Elektra really make it in the world of luvvies and starlets?


This was an unsolicited book, which arrived just in time for me to take it with me on holiday. What attracted me to it was the brightly coloured cover. Stunning! I began it on my journey to the airport and I finished it during my 8 hour flight.

I found that this was a quick and easy read, perfect for getting away from it all and had a 'Geek Girl' feel about it. I loved that it has been written by a mother and a daughter and I think that their strong relationship has come through in this novel as it is seamless, it flowed from both of the characters point of view and you would struggle to identify who wrote what.

The main character Electra, is a budding wannabe actor. She is an ordinary teen in the sense of boys, relationships and worries. She attends an acting class and auditions for various parts, she has acting friends, who she seeks advice from and of course there is a book boyfriend in this...

Waiting for Callback is a funny novel which will appeal to many. It is not deep or serious, which is refreshing as a lot of YA seem to focus on heavier subject matter. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it to others.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Horrorstor - Grady Hendrix

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It's a classic old-fashioned haunted house story - set in a big box Swedish furniture superstore. Designed like a retail catalogue, Horrorstor offers a creepy read with mass appeal-perfect for Halloween tables! Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring wardrobes, shattered Bracken glassware, and vandalized Liripip sofabeds-clearly, someone or something is up to no good. To unravel the mystery, five young employees volunteer for a long dusk-til-dawn shift-and they encounter horrors that defy imagination. Along the way, author Grady Hendrix infuses sly social commentary on the nature of work in the new 21st century economy. 

A traditional haunted house story in a contemporary setting (and full of contemporary fears), Horrorstor comes conveniently packaged in the form of a retail catalogue, complete with illustrations of ready-to-assemble furniture and other, more sinister accessories.



This is a very different type of book to the genre I usually read, however I was looking forward to a change and as it is October and Halloween isn't too far away I thought this was an ideal time to begin it.

Horrorstor is a book like no other I have ever read, as a rule I don't enjoy horror; this book I feel slips into other genres not just horror. I loved the humor in the book and the whole lay out of it. This type of book proves that ebooks will never replace actual books. There is so many quirky aspects to this that just wouldn't come across correctly on a screen. I feel so lucky to have had a physically copy to review.

The book looks and feels like a catalogue from a well know furniture store, throughout the book there are different furniture types that are available to buy. I love the detail and the effort that has gone into the book to create it. Dimensions, product descriptions and colour variations.

The novel is extremely easy to read and I read it in just a couple of sittings, the writing flows very well and you are hooked right from the beginning. You are only in a chapter or two and the action starts.

I loved the development of the characters and felt I was with them in Orsk that night, (wishing I wasn't) I began to really care about the characters and my thoughts on them grew the further I got into the book. The whole idea and concept of this book is a good one.

It was brilliantly clever and I loved the ending, although I felt it wasn't completely wrapped up I felt satisfied I have never read a book like this and would recommend it to everyone. Even if you don't like horror, you will enjoy this, make sure you buy the paperback copy though as I don't think you will have the same experience reading an e-copy.

This is a book that will be staying with me some time, I would love to read more from Hendrix and hoping there will be a sequel some time soon.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.

Just a girl standing in front of a boy - Lucy- Anne Holmes

Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy by Lucy-Anne Holmes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


'My love story may not be the sort you read about in books or see in films . . . Love stories have glorious highs and ghastly lows. But when it comes to my own life, I'd have to say, you can keep your fabulous highs and I'll happily steer clear of the terrible lows.' 

After a rocky start in life, Jenny Taylor, 27, star receptionist at the local doctors surgery, has things all worked out thanks to 'The Smiling Fanny Manifesto' - a list of 10 daily things she must do to keep the blues at bay. But her life is turned upside down when she meets aspiring musician Joe King. And reliable boyfriend Matt proposes. And then her mum leaves her dad and moves into Jenny's flat determined to 'bond'.




This was the first book I have read by Lucy, and I am so glad I did. I have felt let down lately by some chick lits, I felt they haven't delivered in a way that I wanted. This was certainly not one of those books!

I found this extremely easy to get into and once I got into it I didn't want to put it down. It had me laughing and crying throughout.

Jenny Taylor AKA fanny is a very likable character and I fell in love with her from the start. I felt that she was a character you could relate to well. All characters introduced in the story are well thought out and developed. They l have a valid reason for being there and have their own personalities. Jenny's mum turning up was a bit of a shock, but I felt it worked well and she adapted to Jenny and her friends lives.

This book illustrates love in the real world and that it is not always as it seems, this brings reality to the book, but Lucy writes it in such a way that it has you routing for the characters. This is ' real' love.

The way the book is written is brilliant, it has taken me a while to find a book that flows so well and has you wanting to not put the book down. It has the right mix of humour and sadness and still manages to pick you up.

This is not your average romantic chick lit and I would advise everyone to read it, it is funny but real.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy for an honest review.

A Cinderella Christmas - Holly Kingston

A CINDERELLA CHRISTMAS BY HOLLY KINGSTON

(Publishing 19th November 2013: Novelicious Books)

Lucy Tilley dreams of a career in show business. But this isn’t quite what she had in mind …

This year’s Cinderella pantomime is the hottest production in town. What’s more, Lucy is starring alongside Ryan Aspall: famous TV actor, sex symbol and potential love of her entire life. One teeny problem – Lucy is tripping the light fantastic as … the back end of the comedy cow. Surely nothing kills a flirty moment quite like wearing a massive set of udders? At least she has the support of glamorous (if potentially flammable) Charmaine; a reality star diva of a Cinderella, who Lucy is completely fascinated by. But behind the fame and beauty, Charmaine is not all she seems. With more drama off the stage than on it, and everyone wanting to be star of the show, will Lucy find the confidence to make it out of the cow suit and into the spotlight this Christmas?

My 5* Review:

This is a fab debut novella from Holly, and it really is fab! I was sent the copy late on Friday night, but only realised I had it on Saturday morning. I sat in bed and began to read. It came apparent very quickly that this would be a book that I would not be putting down. And within a few hours I had finished it. It is just such a brilliant Christmas novella, it had me laughing out loud and routing for characters. I feel so honored I was among the select few to read this before publication day. 

This story is based on Lucy, she is an aspiring actress, however she has never had a lead role, this is down to her lack of confidence. She is in Cinderella this year with some really famous people. Charmaine plays Cinderella and is currently the celebrity in vogue. When Lucy begins spending time with her she feels she has died and gone to heaven. She ends up being her unofficial PA and Lucy feels this is a real honor to be asked. Lucy has a crush on the lead male role, Ryan. Lucy is hoping that the more time they spend together he also will realise that he loves her. There is a slight problem though, that is Lucy is the back end of a cow...

This is a brilliant Christmas novella, Lucy is likable and I felt I could connect to her straight away. The story is funny and the pace is good. I began to develop hate for Charmaine and wanted her to get her comeuppance. Holly has written this novella very well, there is so much happening in it, it's hard to believe that it is so short. It feels like a novel to read and it also is not rushed at the end, this is something I feel that does happen in novellas. Holly ties things up nicely and the story is very smooth. I was only disappointed to come to the end. 

I am glad I have had the opportunity to read something by Holly and she is going to be an author to watch. Her writing is brilliant and she connects to her audience well. This novella has really got me in the mood for Christmas, and I now desperately want to go and see a pantomime this year. 

This is one to read to get you into the Christmas mood, I recommend everyone to read it!

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this review copy.

ABOUT HOLLY KINGSTON:

Holly started her life as a child. When she grew substantially taller and learnt how to read, she decided that she’d jolly well like to write books. Whilst at college, Holly had a slight change in her career focus and decided to become a marine biologist. On discovering that she sucked at science and that her future job was unlikely to involve monitoring anything larger than sea plankton, Holly went back to the drawing board and got a Bsc in Psychology instead. She studied with Script writing North and wrote her first film, along with a number of shorts and a sitcom pilot. After several years of writing, rewriting, and hiding stuff for posterity on her hard drive, she sent her first novel to The Marsh Agency where she is now represented by Hannah Ferguson. She is currently working on her second full length novel and wondering how to lose the weight she’s put on whilst writing her last book. Her first book, A Cinderella Christmas, is out this November.

The Bride Wore Size 12 - Meg Cabot

The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'Heather Wells is used to having her cake and eating it too, but this time her cake just might be cooked. Her wedding cake, that is.

With her upcoming nuptials to PI Cooper Cartwright only weeks away, Heather's already stressed. And when a pretty junior turns up dead, Heather's sure things can't get worse—until every student in the dorm where she works is a possible suspect, and Heather's long-lost mother shows up.


Heather has no time for a tearful mother and bride reunion. She has a wedding to pull off and a murder to solve. Instead of wedding bells, she might be hearing wedding bullets, but she's determined to bring the bad guys to justice if it's the last thing she does . . . and this time, it just might be.'




This is the first novel that I have read by Meg Cabot therefore I had not pre-conceived ideas of whether or not I would like her style of writing or not. If had read the blurb on the back I probably wouldn’t have chosen the novel as it did not readily appeal to me. The front cover was also not something that would have drawn me to the book – neither really did the novel any favours.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was very well written and has all the elements that appeal to me as being a good read.

Written in the first person as the central character Heather, this book is from the outset witty and up to date. The storyline is believable and the reader can identify with the characters, they have a very ‘real’ quality about them and the author manages to turn what might have been a very predictable chic lit into a very enjoyable novel with elements of mystery, suspense and romance thrown in for good measure.

Heather is weeks away from her wedding to a Private Investigator Cooper and is already quite stressed out dealing with a very hard to get hold of wedding planner. When a pretty student is discovered dead in the dorm that Heather is in charge of surrounded in mystery this puts added pressure on her and turns her job in to a nightmare; when everyone becomes a suspect Heather is more stressed than the usual bride to be. Add to the mix the arrival of her estranged mother and an ever growing wedding guest list that she and Cooper are not adding to and the whole affair becomes a little like a circus ring.

Heather takes it upon herself to find out what has happened at the College and turns detective to uncover the murderer not without putting herself in danger in the process. Will she solve the mystery before she comes to harm herself, will she manage to ‘handle’ her wedding planner and pull off a great wedding, will she in fact manage to get married at all? All these things contribute to making this novel a good read and keeps the pace going through the novel.

Such a delight to read a chic lit novel that is not predictable or sloppy, one that does not insult the intelligence of the reader and one that has laugh out loud moments. The main character is a strong woman, sensible, vulnerable, normal, the other characters believable and occupy good supporting roles.

I had not read any other books of the Heather Wells series but felt that I didn’t need the background information of the previous novels in this series to enjoy this book. It is a good stand alone novel and having read this I would definitely give the others in the series a look.

Rating this novel I believe I would give this a five star rating, for me it had all the elements that make for a good read; I felt that I knew Heather Wells and New York City through her eyes although I have never been there and I genuinely enjoyed the writing style of Meg Cabot.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this review copy. 

L'Amour Actually - Melanie Jones with Interview!

L'Amour Actually by Melanie Jones
My rating - 5 of 5*


'The woman was one of those irritating expat types who felt she owed it to the world to impart on her all her superior knowledge of life in France. I realised that if I didn’t stop her now, she’d be bending my ear all the way to Bergerac. ‘Actually,’ I said, leaning in toward the woman, ‘I’m planning to integrate my way into the boxers of the first good-looking Frenchman I see. Can’t think of any better way to learn the language myself. You wouldn’t happen to know the French for “fancy a shag?” would you? Voulez-vous coucher avec moi just seems a bit nineteen-seventies these days.’ After one particularly bad day at work, advertising executive and confirmed city girl Melanie Jones decides to give up her old life in search of something new and simpler in South West France. With little knowledge of the country, even less of the language and just the memory of a disastrous school French exchange and a few day trips to Calais, she embarks on her adventure with a suitcase full of optimism and not a little bit of naivety. After all, how different can life in France be? After a series of adventures with skirt-ripping tractors, handsome twin farmers, celebrity not-quite-beens, unusual toilets and a bonkers ex-pat community, all topped up, of course, with lashings of rosé, Melanie begins to discover that her new life in France isn’t quite what she’d thought it would be.'

My Review:

Melaine and I had been tweeting each other and when she offered me the chance to read her book, I jumped at the chance. 

The cover is gorgeous and so is the title, it has me hooked before I even opened the book! 

This book is set in rural France and is almost everyone’s fantasy, leaving their old life behind and to begin somewhere new. New country, new job, new language… how hard could it be? Trouble is Mel is not a country girl, she has lived in the city and has had an attractive job. 

We are taken on Mel’s journey to fit into a new community with no knowledge of the language and no job. This turns out not to be not the smoothest start to her new life. This is a hilarious semi factual book, which is written very well; poor Mel, having to put up with that toilet in her cottage needed a medal! 

Mel is such a likable character, she arrives in France wearing completely unsuitable shoes; which she ends up having to dump and falling in ditches. There are certainly some cringe moments in the book. Mel’s attitude changes through the book, becoming less materialistic and less self- centred which she notices herself when her best friend comes over to visit. 

Mel has a wonderful style to her writing, it’s smooth, humorous and flows well. I had to keep reminding myself that parts of this book are real as it read so much like a story and I got engrossed with the hilarious story line. I just hope that Mel didn’t really have so many embarrassing moments. 

One of my favourite parts of the book is when Mel has to report on the oldest living cat in France (I won’t say anymore so I don’t spoil it for you,) this had me in stitches the entire time I was reading it, I could actually visualise what was happening. 

I love Mel’s neighbour, Tracey the reality show singer and the relationship they have, I felt I was with them at times in the book in the pool and enjoying champagne. There are so many good characters in the book, they are all written so well, I do hope that these characters were real in the book or based on actual people. 

Although the book is semi factual I felt I could have a good guess at predicting the end, this is where I was caught out and didn’t expect what I read. I love that it had a little twist to it and it made me feel all warm inside. 

This book really made me want to give everything up and start a life somewhere new. It made me think about places off the beaten track to visit and want to escape reality. Mel is so lucky she had to opportunity to do this and I hope her travelling continues in her next book. This is a fantastic summer read that is a real page turner. L’Amour Actually is out to buy now!


I would like to thank Melanie for sending me her book to review – this has not affected my review of the book at all. Melanie also very kindly agreed to have an interview with me for my blog. 

About Mel:

Melanie Jones is an ex-ex-pat with a myriad of ex-careers, two children she adores and a husband in ‘the biz’ (the tv biz). Also she’s a blogger for the HuffPost and has written for The Daily Mail.

My interview with Mel Jones:

Hi Mel, thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for my blog. I loved your book so thanks for sending it to me to review.

1. Your book is a travel memoir of your time in France, how much of this is factual? 

L’Amour Actually is a fictionalised travel memoir based on the blog I wrote when I lived in South West France. Some of it happened, some of it happened but not exactly as I have written it and some of it didn’t happen at all.  I moved to France with my (now ex) husband and children. We did our research, I spoke fluent French and we had a great time but who wants to hear about that? I’m boring myself just talking it! So I decided to put my many funny adventures in France into a more fictionalised setting with the main character as a younger, sassier (and sadly slimmer) me which would give me a bit of artistic licence.  

For example, the scene in the hospital is completely true, the Nine and a Half Weeks dance is also true but that was actually something that happened on my last flight as a stewardess and I decided to entertain the first class passengers. Whether they were entertained is another matter completely but nobody complained.  I did have to be taken to hospital by the pompiers but for a different reason than the one in the book and the celebrity cat is based on my friend Karina’s now sadly deceased Persian cat which was the oldest one in France and they really wouldn’t recognise its claim to fame because it wasn’t a French cat…but I didn’t run it over. That was another cat entirely.  

The characters are composites of people I met with the odd one being made up so I could fit the stories in.  When we were first going through the completed manuscript, the editors at Summersdale, my publishers, commented several times that some of the stories seemed a little far-fetched. Surprisingly, they were all the ones that were completely true. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

2. When you were writing your memoir did you learn anything new about yourself or were surprised by anything?

It was lovely to relive some of the very funny things that happened. Moving to a new country and speaking a different language opens up so many avenues for adventure and misadventure. I think what surprised me the most was just how many anecdotes I had managed to amass in five years. L’Amour Actually had to be cut by 30,000 words so there’s a whole lot more you won’t even read about.  Makes me wonder how I survived there for so long!

3. What’s the best thing about writing?

Everything!  I love writing and watching the story develop on my laptop screen. I’m what I call a ‘seat of your pants’ writer. I know where the story begins and where it ends, but what happens in the middle depends entirely where it takes me. I love to get lost in the plot and the characters but the best thing is listening to other people laugh and giggle when they read my book. If I’ve brought a little bit of sunshine to someone’s day then I’ve done my job.

I should also admit that I use writing as an excuse to drink countless cups of tea, stuff myself on biscuits (Writer’s Arse is a real condition for us authors) and refuse to do the ironing. It’s a win/win situation!

4. What advice would you give aspiring writers?

There’s so much advice I could give, not that I consider myself an expert at all, but as a new writer who’s just had their first book published it still seems quite fresh in my mind. 

Firstly, get your story down. When I originally decided to make the move from blogging to writing a full length book, I found that each time I opened up my laptop I would go over what I had already written and edit and re-write. Before I knew it, it was time to pick the kids up from school or whatever and I had achieved precisely nothing.  It’s very disheartening to spend months writing and not get further than Chapter 3 and goodness knows, there’s plenty of time to edit it once you’ve finished. Editing is death by a thousand word cuts. Trust me, if you think writing the book is hard…  

In 2010 I did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) where you are challenged to write a 50,000 word novella or even the beginning of a full length novel between the 1st and 30th of November.  There are all sorts of tools where you can chart your progress, set yourself a daily writing target and meet ups where you can join other local people who are also doing it for write-ins or just to moan at your lack of progress over  a latte. It was invaluable for teaching me to just get the story down first.

I’ll also share with you my tip for beating writer’s block.  Whenever you get stuck just write in big letters ‘and something FABULOUS happens’ then move on to the next part of the story. Chances are, when you go back to it later, the story will flow easily and you’ll wonder why you got stuck in the first place.

And finally (get me!) don’t give up. Keep writing, keep sending out your queries and don’t let those rejection slips get the better of you. I was so lucky because L’Amour Actually was picked up from Authonomy, a writer’s website, directly by the then commissioning editor at Summersdale. I don’t have an agent and I’ve never sent out a query letter but I do think I’ve been exceptionally lucky. My next book is fiction and so not likely to fit into the catalogue of my current publisher so I’ll be back there with everyone else, flogging my manuscript and waiting for the postman with a knot in my stomach

5. When you aren’t busy writing, what do you like to read?

I read all sorts of different books. I love all the chicklit and women’s popular fiction authors like Catherine Alliott, Jojo Moyes, Katie Fforde, India Knight and Jodi Picoult. I also love Lynwood Barclay, Harlen Coben and Patricia Cornwell for a quick fix of the darker side of life. I belong to a book club which always stretches my reading well outside my comfort zone. Our current book is A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, a story about overcoming alcohol and drug abuse.  Not easy reading but fascinating.  

I was born in Iran and moved back to the Middle East in my twenties and love any book with a middle eastern theme like The Kite Runner and  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini and Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, which is a must-read for an insight into the situation for many women under the ayatollahs.

6. Who is your favourite author?

I don’t honestly think I could name one particular author as my favourite. I love all of the ones I’ve mentioned before but it’s also great to discover new ones. Since L’Amour Actually came out and I’ve taken to social media to publicise it, I’ve come across some seriously good new authors that I might otherwise not have heard of. To be honest, if a book is well written and engages me, that’s the best I can ask for.

7. Will we be seeing more of your travels in books to come? 

In my twenties I worked for a few years as an air stewardess for a Middle Eastern airline. It was a way to see the world but from the comfort of a 5 star hotel. I was never really the backpacking kind, I wasn’t even a brownie.  

I’ve been so lucky to have travelled all over the world and had many funny or unusual adventures on the way, like being kidnapped by a rickshaw driver in Hong Kong and partying in the red light district of Patpong with a bunch of US marines who were on shore leave. I also worked in the film industry on the marketing side and met loads of famous actors and actresses so there are lots of stories to tell there. I’m hoping to incorporate some of them into my next book but it will be fiction, not a memoir.

8. Are you working on your next book? Can you give us a sneak preview? 

Yes, the next book is being written as we speak. I like the main characters in my books to be strong women who don’t get crushed by adversity. They meet it head on in high heels and red lipstick. My next book, which isn’t set in France, is the story of Rosie, dumped by her feckless husband in her forties and with two ne’er do well sons whose life revolves around their X-Box. With the help of an inheritance she sets off to find all the people who had left handprints on her heart throughout her life and in the process finds love (of course) and herself.  It will make you laugh out loud and cry noisily. 

I went on a writer’s development day earlier this year with the wonderful Sarah Duncan (Single to Rome, Kissing Mr Wrong) and we all had to submit the first page of a manuscript for our fellow writers and Sarah to vote on. Mine came out second with Sarah choosing it as her favourite. And here it is, all for you…

Rosie turned over in bed and looked at the sleeping mound of her husband under the duvet, snoring gently, with his back to her…as always. She rolled over and lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to work out the last time they had made love. Was it after they’d been out for dinner on their wedding anniversary? No, she distinctly remembered that Bill had decided to stay up and watch Top Gear that night. Bloody Jeremy Clarkson. Maybe on her birthday? For the past few years, sex had become something that only happened on special occasions, like opening a bottle of good champagne. The trouble was that Bill didn’t drink.  With a sigh, Rosie realised that she couldn’t actually remember the last time but it definitely hadn’t been this year, maybe even last.

She ran her hands down her body. She wasn’t in bad nick for her age, all things considered. Gravity had taken its toll on the boobs, bum and tum front, but she looked far better than a lot of women who were a good ten years younger. Good genes. That’s what it was. She had her mother to thank for that. Things used to be really good in the sex department. It had been regular and enjoyable, sometimes even adventurous, but the less said about that the better. For a brief moment, Rosie wondered if Bill was having an affair, though God knows who’d have him. He farted noisily in his sleep. Maybe not. Who’d put up with that if they didn’t have to? But it wasn’t really the sex that bothered her. I mean, this was the twenty first century. You could get sex anywhere – although she might be hard pushed to find ‘anywhere’ in the depths of the rural West Country – it was the closeness, the touches, the hugs that she missed.

Quietly she got out of bed and went to her knicker drawer – the one place she could be sure Bill would never venture – and took out the letter. Treading softly out, so as not to wake him, she went into the bathroom and locked the door. Perched on the toilet, she opened it again and re-read the contents. A slow smile spread across her face and she clutched the letter to her chest. This could just be the answer to all her prayers.

Thanks again Mel for a fab interview, I am definitely going to be reading your next book. 

You can grab a copy of L'Amour Actually now on Amazon.