Friend Friday….welcome Anna….

So here is the elusive Friend Friday.. thank you Anna and Erica for being my first replies. This is my newest meme, that I hope will bring bloggers closer together. It’s a work in progress….

Today I welcome Anna to Hayley Reviews….over to Anna….

1.How do you know me? I started following you on Twitter and found your blog like that!

2.Have we met in real life?
Not that I’m aware of…

3.What is your bookish inspiration?
My big motivation for reading is to learn everything there is to know and to read everything that’s ever been published. I know it’s not gonna happen, but that thought is what inspires me to keep reading. And I think Lemony Snicket summed up my feelings pretty well: 

4.What is your favourite book and why? (I know this won’t be an easy ask so you can list more than one)

I have SO MANY favorites, but the book I’ve probably read the most is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It’s the kind of book that changed my life – it helped influence what I studied in college, it informed my understanding of what it means to be intelligent, it helped me put the world in a new perspective. This is a book that everyone should read in my opinion. I’ve probably read it at least five times. 

5. What book got you into reading?
Redwall (Redwall, #1)

Redwall by Brian Jacques was probably the first series I obsessively read without my parents pushing them on me. I’ve always been a reader (and was raised my readers), but this series was my first independent read and it changed the way I approached books and sought them out.

6. What is your fave series and why?

My favorite series changes depending on my mood, my current reads, my nostalgia levels, etc, but lately, my favorite series has been Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn books. There are six books in the series so far and in every book, I’ve found characters that I love and relate to and excellent fantasy stories (even some wild west steampunky fantasy in the latest few books). I adore the intricacy of the magic system and the depth of the characters.

7. Favourite authors and why?
This is difficult to narrow down – My Goodreads says I’ve read Brandon Sanderson the most (which makes sense) and Lemony Snicket, Neal Shusterman, and Roald Dahl aren’t far behind. However, lately, I’ve been reading a lot of Stephen King, Garth Nix, and Orson Scott Card, so they might be my current favorites.

8. Tell us a bit about you and your blog?

My blog, The Bibliotaph (http://bibliotaphbooks.blogspot.com) is my way of pushing myself to write about the things I read. I’m trying to lean more towards SFF books on the blog, but then I’ll read something fascinating that’s completely unrelated and I feel the need to include it. Maybe I’ll narrow down my focus eventually….

As for me, I’m a dedicated reader who loves herbal tea, mix CDs, snowboarding, and goats. I try (often in vain) to bring my interests together on my blog in a way that makes sense. I headed back to school over the summer, so I’m excited to see what new books and learning opportunities school will offer my in the coming months.

9. What’s your favourite colour?
YELLOW. It’s just so happy and bright and beautiful:)

10. Here’s your chance to tell us all a bit about the last book you read and your thoughts?

I just finished Hunger by Roxane Gay and it’s a beautiful read. It’s very thoughtful and honest and that was refreshing for me. I’ll probably suggest it to my book club. 

If you want to get involved drop me a line? And be sure to follow Anna’s blog.

Author Guest Post: Happy Publication day Heidi Swain for Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage

Today here at Hayley Reviews I welcome to you Heidi Swain, an author I have had on my TBR list for a while I am ashamed to say. I was lucky enough to meet Heidi at the Simon & Schuster Digital Originals evening in June. (I will be posting a blog post on that it is on my list.)

Happy Publication day Heidi….I cannot wait to start delving into your world…

Before I start are you all excited and set for publication day.
Hello my lovely and thank you so much for inviting me to feature on your blog. Yes, I think I’m ready – the fizz is in the fridge and every device in the house is fully charged.
• How will you spend publication day?
Publication day itself is mostly spent on social media thanking everyone for their fabulous likes, posts, shares, tweets, shelfies and kind wishes. It’s always fabulous but very busy and this time around I have to be even more organised than usual as I’m heading off to the RNA Conference early the next day!
• This is book number four and you are now a full time author that must feel like a dream come true?
The last two years have been an absolute whirlwind and I consider myself very lucky, not only to have had 4 books published so quickly, but also to be doing the job I love every single day. It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point but I wouldn’t change a single thing and am looking forward to writing dozens more books for decades to come.
• Have you always known what you wanted to do?
Yes. For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be an author but it took me years to pluck up the courage to do anything about it. A school friend of mine says she can remember me talking about wanting to write when we were in our early teens but it wasn’t until I was actually in my 30’s that I began to seriously get some words down.
• Tell us something about you that no one would know?
My first job was working Saturdays in a ‘record’ shop. Yep, we’re talking before CD’s here. Who would have guessed I’m that old?
• As its publication day we have to talk about your latest book, where did you get your inspiration for Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage?
The initial idea for Cuckoo Cottage popped into my head when I was writing my first Christmas book, Mince Pies and Mistletoe at The Christmas Market. Gwen, the owner of Cuckoo Cottage is a wonderfully eccentric character in that book and I just knew, having discovered what she did with all the battered Christmas trees, that her home had a story of its own to tell. A research trip to Happy Days Retro Vacations to stay in a refurbished Airstream van sealed the plot and Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage was born!
•Tell us about the main characters from Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage and your inspiration for them?
Lottie Foster is the main character. She hasn’t had the easiest of starts in life and I wanted to tell her story and show that just because life has rubbish moments, it doesn’t have to be that way forever. You have to look out for the opportunities that come your way and grab them, even if they might not be what you are expecting.
Lottie has two guys to keep her company at Cuckoo Cottage – Will and Matt. I’m not going to say anything about either of these characters. I’ll let you make up your own minds!
• It must be a nice feeling to see two of your novels in the Kindle sale ahead of your fourth coming out?
Yes, this is really exciting and perfectly timed. I would love as many people as possible to fall in love with Wynbridge and to have both The Cherry Tree Café and Summer at Skylark Farm in the sale offers the best chance of that happening!
• Now you are a full time author what is your average day like?
I’m an early bird – always up around 5 or not long after. Weather permitting, I’ll start the day with a 20 minute walk and then settle down to work on the WIP until lunchtime. Afternoons are generally reserved for writing blog posts, answering emails, fiddling on Insta and occasionally flinging the vacuum cleaner around of course! I do like to write longhand sometimes so if I can’t get to the keyboard for any reason I’ll be working away in pencil.
• What would you say to aspiring authors?
Don’t put off getting those words down. Even if all you have are a collection of ideas – character names, bits and pieces of dialogue, settings – get them all recorded and let your creativity grow. If you have a story in you, let it out! Once you have committed your thoughts to paper, you’ll be amazed by how quickly they begin to take on a life of their own.
• What sort of books do you like reading and what are you reading right now?
I love reading commercial romantic fiction but I’m not adverse to the odd thriller. I’ve also started to read more historical fiction – Georgette Heyer has been a revelation. My current read is The Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse by lovely Cressida McLaughlin, which I am absolutely loving.

Heidi – Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions ahead of a busy day.

 

 

 

 Heidi Swain Author Bio

Although passionate about writing from an early age, Heidi Swain gained a degree in Literature, flirted briefly with a newspaper career, married and had two children before she plucked up the courage to join a creative writing class and take her literary ambitions seriously.

A lover of Galaxy bars, vintage paraphernalia and the odd bottle of fizz, she now writes feel good fiction with heart for Simon and Schuster.

Her debut novel, The Chery Tree Café was published in July 2015 (paperback June 2017) and Summer at Skylark Farm hit the shelves the following June. Mince Pies and Mistletoe at the Christmas Market was a hugely successful Christmas 2016 release and her fourth book, Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage was published in July 2017. She is currently preparing for her October 2017 Christmas release, Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at The Christmas Fair.

Heidi lives in Norfolk with her wonderful family and a mischievous cat called Storm.

 Links

Website: http://www.heidiswain.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heidi_Swain

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriterHeidiJoSwain?ref=hl

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heidi-Swain/e/B00YNN3LDI/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1483439180&sr=8-2-ent

 Cuckoo Cottage: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_16?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=coming+home+to+cuckoo+cottage&sprefix=coming+home+to+c%2Caps%2C240&crid=M3CL71BR7MXM 

Book Review: Because I Was Lonely by Hayley Mitchell and Giveaway.

Published: 2nd March by RedDoor Publishing 

Blurb: The grass is always greener on the other side…. Or is it?

Meet Rachel. She’s trapped in a sleep-deprived world of misery and grief. She used to love being a wife and mum, but now life is a grown-up mess.

Meet Adam. He’s trapped in a world of grief and confusion. It wasn’t always like this, but since the accident, things have never been the same. 

Rachel and Adam used to be friends, back on the days before marriage and babies…before loneliness set in. Then along came Facebook. So when Rachel and Adam rekindle their online friendship, what starts as a little harmless flirtation soon becomes an obsession, and slowly the threads of their lives unravel before them. 

Because I was lonely expertly traces the rollercoaster of actions and reactions experienced by a cast of credible, fallible, and ultimately human, characters. 

Review: Firstly I must thank RedDoor publishing for sending me a copy of this. I feel like I had this ages before it was released yet I didn’t start reading until the day before. On my initial read I was shocked and hooked by Rachel who is the first character we hear from. I felt sorry for her and I longed for her to get the support she needed. She sounded so lost and in despair. My heart was in my mouth on reading her initial thoughts. The book is split into two parts we hear from Rachel, Adam, David and Julia and then in part two we are shown how their lives intertwine. 

Wow for a debut novel Hayley really did go all out Because I Was Lonely is heartfelt, poignant and real. Each and everyone of us can change based on a series of unfortunate events. Adam changed due to an accident that he blamed himself for. Rachel changed after baby number two Jamie and lack of sleep. Julia didn’t change so much but she adapted to the situation and maybe not in entirely the right way. David became frustrated and became lonely and easily distracted. 

I wasn’t expecting part two to be as naughty as it was. It’s funny what connecting to the past can feel like via social media and how sometimes those furthest away from us are the ones who make us see the clearest of blues. I was intrigued and at times shocked by this novel, it just shows that anyone can switch when they are desperate enough. I also liked the fact that the ending could mean many things so each reader could take something different from it. 

I really enjoyed this debut by my name sake and now I want to give someone else the chance to read this intriguing and at times shocking read. Comment below as to why you would like to read it and whether I made you want to. I will give it until Wednesday evening and then I will pick a winner. 

Book Valentines….

So Valentines is just another day to me and I’m perfectly ok with that. Yesterday was a crazy productive work day and an awesome Zumba session with my fab Zumba girlies. (Ached today and today was just as manic but I feel good for it.)

Anyway the reason for this post is I joined a book group on Facebook called We love books 🙂 and the lovely Kelly organised a book swap for Valentines. As my birthday is next week my post is usually hidden, but today I proved this wasn’t for my birthday. I am so grateful to my book valentine… I have had a crazy time at work just recently so haven’t read much but hoping to get a little in tonight as there’s some book releases imminent. 

I adore Jenny Colgan and I’m a little behind on some of her reads when I have caught up a bit Jenny will be my next what shall I read. And The Woman Next Door I have been intrigued by from Twitter.

Did you participate in this book swap or another if so did you Valentine do good? Do tell? 

Now for the back story…life is a rollercoaster…

Today is day fourteen of my #Dryathlon twist and in some ways not drinking tea and coffee is getting easier and in others it really isn’t. I have some Starbucks treats to look forward to come the 1st October. Having had a fair few donation free days today I received an additional £10 from my mate Amy. I have to say I am feeling very humbled by all my friends, some like Amy I don’t see that often these days but it is awesome to know they are still there to cheer me on and support me, and for that I am truly thankful to everyone who has donated and supported me in any and every way they can. Your kind words of encouragement really do mean a lot. Some days really are better than others, believe me, I work in retail.

I have wanted to and will start writing up my snapshots about my time at Cancer Research these will become Dear Readers….there are some lovely tales that I will share with you soon. So, I wanted to give you a bit of a back story explaining my reasons and motivations for not only volunteering but also to this blog.

I had already started writing a post that was named 2014 but as much as 2014 was the major changing point that is not where this post or where this story starts.

In December of 2013 I remember being told that Nan had a growth on her bladder. Every single member of my family tried to instantly think differently but deep down we were all thinking the worst. Each one of us broke down in one way or another. I remember thinking Ronan Keating sure was right Life is a bloody Rollercoaster. The one thing I was certain of during every moment of worry was that my Nan is a fighter and one of the strongest women I have ever known, she wouldn’t give up. I was so angry and extremely upset, I am an emotional person at the best of times but every little thing was making me teary. I knew that we had to be there for Nan and for Granddad during this emotional and tense time, so that is exactly what we did.

Onto 2014, in February of 2014 Sophie one of my beloved work colleagues lost her mother to Cancer. We were all deeply saddened for Sophie, and when she asked a number of us to attend her mum’s funeral we did just that. (I was not prepared for how this year would turn out and how many funerals that I would attend – that is later on) I like to think that me and my colleagues have well and truly been there for Sophie in her time of need. Since then she went onto organise an awesome event in memory of her mother where she raised a shed load of cash for Cancer Research. Well done Sophie.

Nan had her operation/treatment in March and was recovering well but then a series of events changed not only her life but that of every member of my family, In April 2014, my beloved Granddad Sam passed away – he had been unwell for a while having been diagnosed with COPD but he carried on with life to an extent. None of us were ready to lose Granddad and Nan was lost without him. What I will say is I did truly love the time I spent with them both, Granddad shared my love of books and I am still reading some of his books to this day, and a number of them live on his old book shelf. Last May I read an awesome intriguing book called We Were Liars and at the end I cried as it was exactly the sort of book I would have passed onto him and I couldn’t. Watching films with Nan will be a memory I treasure. I even got the chance to show her the video of me and my best mate swimming with Dolphins these memories are priceless.

In August 2014, a friend of mine Katherine Bones passed away from liver Cancer she had had a beautiful baby boy just over a month earlier. This was heartbreaking, Kat was a kind-hearted soul who I will remember as being my Shane buddy and Mummy Kat. She was a people person and she loved sharing her love for music and boy-bands with anyone and everyone. It makes me sad that she had just got the one thing she wanted and her life was cruelly taken away. The number of people who attended her funeral and swarmed to Facebook to post condolence messages really proved how many lives she touched in her life. When Shane Filan’s new album gets released next week I will be yet again thinking of Kat – who I won’t bump into any longer.

In October 2014, we received the news we never wanted Nan now had stomach cancer, we were told to make the most of our time with her which is exactly what we did. In January of this year my Nan passed away in front of me and my closest family members. It was by far one of the hardest things that I have ever witnessed in my life, but I am glad we could be with her before she returned to Granddad and was suffering no longer. In all honesty the last week or so was the hardest before that she was just Nan – same as ever. My brother and sister are both grateful that she met both of their daughters. Nan had two and a bit years with Pippa and a few weeks with Freya and those memories are once again priceless.

My Nan was a huge lover of a bargain from a charity shop and I started volunteering in the November of last year and every week I would visit her and she would ask me about the shop and if I was enjoying working there. She also had me on the hunt for a red scarf, I never did find one but this year I will and I will wear it with pride when I do.

So that is a little into why I volunteer, why I have given up tea and coffee argh! lack of caffeine lol and what inspired me to get back blogging.

Until next time 🙂