Elaina James

The Season For Love - M. W. Arnold* Rating: Book Summary: Believing she was responsible for the death of her husband, Chrissie Stewart retreats from all those who love her. A chance meeting with mysterious stranger, single-parent Josh Morgan and his bewitching young daughter Lizzy, breathe new life into her and gradually, she feels able to start to let go of the memory of her lost love. Unexpected links are revealed between the two families that strengthen the growing bonds she feels to this man and with the encouragement of her best friend Annie, herself hiding a hidden conflict from Chrissie, she battles with her demons to believe in her ability to trust and love again. Everything comes to a head on Christmas Day; which all goes to show that this is truly The Season for Love. Review: Congratulations to M.W. Arnold on his debut novel; The Season For Love *. There is a strong theme of love, loss and friendship running through the novel, which had me de...

Rating: Book Summary: Cassie Travers is a strong, independent women who is determined to maintain control of everything in her life. However, life is never quite that straightforw ard. In order to get her out of one mess, Cassie ends up in another as she takes a job that causes her to be reliant on a man she vowed never to need again. To resolve her future, she must first resolve her past. Review: Summer in San Remo takes us on a captivating journey from the quaint streets of Bath to the stunning Riviera. The beautiful descriptions had me planning my next holiday destinations! Cassie is a wonderful character; strong and capable, but hiding a vulnerable side that makes her doubt herself and always push herself harder to achieve success. Her curiosity is contagious and I found myself captivated by the mystery that she and her old flame Jake were on a quest to unravel. I loved the fiery chemistry between Cassie and Jake. She might need his help, but that doe...

I'm so excited to tell you that Rhoda Baxter has a new book out today! I loved Girl on the Run  and can't wait to read Rhoda's new novel; Girl in Trouble.  Just to tempt you, here's the fabulous cover and book blurb: Girl In Trouble blurb : Grown up tomboy Olivia doesn't need a man to complete her. Judging by her absent father, men aren't that reliable anyway. She's got a successful career, good friends and can evict spiders from the bath herself, so she doesn't need to settle down, thanks. Walter's ex is moving his daughter to America and Walter feels like he's losing his family. When his friend-with-benefits, Olivia, discovers she's pregnant by her douchebag ex, Walter sees the perfect chance to be part of a family with a woman he loves. But how can Walter persuade the most independent woman he's ever met to accept his help, let alone his heart? Girl In Trouble is the third book in the award nominated Smart Girls se...

I know I haven't been home from my holiday very long, but I enjoyed it so much I've just booked a return trip. It's not until Christmas, so it feels a long way off yet. Mind you given the amount of Christmas stock I see sneaking onto the supermarket shelves, perhaps it will be here quicker than I think. I'd started working on a new novel when I was away. I know I really should be finishing the edits on my current works in progress first, but what can I say, I was inspired. The words kept springing into my head and obviously I just had to write them down. I'm hoping to feel equally inspired on my return trip so I can find the ending for the novel. So if you think about it, this means that my return trip to Fuerteventura isn't really a holiday at all. It's all research. Every part of it, including sitting on the beach, paddling in the sea, lounging by the pool, exploring the local market and meeting new people. It's absolutely all research for the novel....

I’ve always loved the beach. There’s nothing like the feel of the sand between my toes and my hair blowing in the sea breeze. I have fond memories of my childhood summer holidays when we packed Dads tiny Peugeot 205 full of camping gear and headed to the seaside. The drive always seemed to take forever to get there and the tent felt too small with my whole family crammed in, but it was all worth it to spend long days building sandcastles and swimming in the sea. My love of the beach hasn’t dismissed through the years, though my standard of accommodation has certainly changed. These days I prefer somewhere with indoor plumbing, a comfortable bed and a solid roof (instead of tents that leak or blow away in the middle of the night during a storm…) Having just returned from the Barceló Fuerteventura Thalasso Spa Hotel I can safely say whilst I am never going back to camping again, I would love to return to the lovely Barceló. It was a truly wonderful holiday. The hotel was exce...

Everything But The Truth was recommended to me on the basis that Gillian McAllister writes gripping stories with strong emotional character threads running through them . I wasn’t disappointed. Gillian has created rich, layered characters, who I couldn’t wait to read more about as I delved further into their world. It was fascinating to follow Rachel as one email in the middle of the night causes her to question everything she knows about the man she loves. And love him she does. Through Gillian’s elegant writing style, Rachel’s voice was clear and her emotions were cleverly portrayed throughout in her explicit yet simple descriptions of what she liked and loved, as though Rachel was confiding in the reader as a friend. Everything But The Truth is an excellent example of how even the smallest of lies can spiral out of control. This novel made me realise that the desire to protect the image that someone else holds of us, can lead to deceit. But one little lie or one simple omissio...

Inspired by last week’s RNA conference, I returned home eager to finish the draft of my novel ready for submission to the NWS for critiquing. One week later, I have a newly written synopsis, a clearer sense of my characters, a revised structure, oh yes, and a novel that’s about 30,000 words less than I started with. The latter is not quite what I was intending to achieve. However, all is not lost. The cut sections are now patiently residing in a new file marked ‘book 2’. There’s just one small snag… A book 2 requires a book 1 to precede it. Just over one month to go till the NWS deadline and 30,000 words to write. I can totally do this, right?