Messy Wonderful Us by Catherine Isaac

About the Book

In late 1983, a letter arrives from Italy, containing secrets so unthinkable that it is hidden away, apparently forever. More than three decades later, it is found . . . by the last person who was ever supposed to see it.

When Allie opens an envelope in her grandmother’s house, it changes everything she knows about her family - and herself.

With the truth liable to hurt those she loves most, she hires a private detective to find out what happened to her late mother in the summer before Allie was born. Taking leave from her job as a research scientist, she is led to the sun-drenched shores of Lake Garda, accompanied by her best friend Ed.

But the secrets that emerge go far beyond anything they were expecting. Now, Allie must find the courage to confront her family’s tangled past and reshape her own future.

Title: Messy, Wonderful Us

Author: Catherine Isaac

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 28th November 2019

Links:   

UK:  Amazon        US:  Amazon

Waterstones

WHSmith

Our Review

As with Catherine’s previous book You, Me, Everything, this book was filled with emotional upheaval and heartbreak.

At one point I felt I knew what was coming because of the clues that were laid out in the writing but then BAM! In an instant my pre conceived ideas were turned on their head and I was completely shocked. The author exposes a subject that is still quite taboo but handles it sensitively.

Allie has discovered some disturbing information about her past and nobody will give her answers to the questions this has raised. She has no choice but to travel to Italy in search of the truth. She confides in her best friend Ed and he decides to accompany her on the trip. Then she discovers that Ed has been keeping secrets too.

The writing was just beautiful, I felt as though I were traveling round Italy with them and when Ed finally opens up to Ellie it broke my heart and I could feel how badly it affected Ellie too.

I loved Ellie and Ed and really rooted for them throughout. I found the ending heartbreaking and one of the characters made me so angry, namely Ed’s wife, and just when I thought I couldn’t hate her any more she proved me wrong.

I can’t really gush enough about this book because I loved it so much. It touches on hard hitting subjects, was intriguing and gripping throughout and took me on a beautiful journey to sunny climes.

The writing is intelligent and the story heartbreaking but uplifting. I think it deserves a book of the year title. This story would be amazing on the big screen and would certainly rival Me, Before You.

I simply cannot wait for Catherine’s next book to be out.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Hello and thank you for visiting my author page! After ten years of writing romantic comedy under the pseudonym 'Jane Costello', I came up with the idea for ‘You Me Everything’ and knew it would be different from anything I'd written before.
It was my agent who suggested I should change my name to 'Catherine Isaac' but, after building up a lovely, loyal following in the UK, I don't mind admitting that the idea gave me a few sleepless nights.
In the event ‘You Me Everything’ became by far my biggest writing success to date: it’s been translated into 24 languages, won the Popular Romantic Fiction award at the RoNAs and a movie is in development by Lionsgate and Temple Hill. My next book, ‘Messy, Wonderful Us’ will be published in the UK in November 2019 in hardback and ebook, while the paperback is out in March 2020.
The novels I now write are about family secrets, exploring some difficult themes but with compassion and humour. I love hearing from anyone who’s read them, so please do write an Amazon review if you’re so inclined - or get in touch with me direct, on Twitter @CatherineIsaac_ , Facebook @Catherineisaacauthor, or Instagram @catherineisaacauthor
You’ll find those accounts full of book news, but lots about my gang too - me, my husband Mark, our three boys and dog Maisie.
I still live in Liverpool, where I started my writing career as a trainee news reporter on the Liverpool Echo back in the late 1990s, a time when life-long friendships were forged over deadlines and quite a lot of beer. These days, as well as my writing, I also love running, walking in the Lake District and baking cakes of variable quality.

Best wishes

Catherine

The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson

Behind every successful man is a woman.

Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

Sophie Mayhew looks like she has the perfect life. Wife of rising political star John F Mayhew, a man who is one step away from the top job in the government, her glamour matches his looks, power, breeding and money. But John has made some stupid mistakes along the way, some of which are threatening to emerge. Still, all this can still be swept under the carpet as long as Sophie 'the trophy' plays her part in front of the cameras.

But the words that come out of Sophie’s mouth one morning on the doorstep of their country house are not the words the spin doctors put in there. Bursting out of the restrictive mould she has been in since birth, Sophie flees to a place that was special to her as a child, a small village on the coast where she intends to be alone.

But once there, she finds she becomes part of a community that warms her soul and makes her feel as if she is breathing properly for the first time. Sophie knows she won't be left in peace for long. Now she must decide: where does her real future lie?

Title:   The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew

Author:  Milly Johnson

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 7th March 2019

Links:   UK:  Amazon        US:  Amazon

Waterstones     WHSmith 

Or you can order signed copies from Milly's website  

Our Review

We are absolutely delighted and privileged to be taking part in the magnificent blog tour for The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew.

I’ve been a huge fan of Milly Johnson for a number of years now and I really thought she was top of her game. So imagine my delight when I devoured this book and found that she had actually raised the bar yet again.

If I didn’t know any better I’d say that Milly writes her books with a magic wand and not a pen. The writing style is slick and sophisticated without losing that down to earth Yorkshire charm and wicked sense of humour that Milly is renowned for.

I was immediately hooked to the story of Sophie Mayhew who is married to a handsome and powerful MP who quite simply cannot keep it in his pants. After suffering one humiliation too many in a callous world full of backbiting and sleaze, Sophie disappears to a place where she had happy memories from many years before.

The town of Little Loste was a complete contrast to the hostile environment she was used to. It was so welcoming with friendly people who were willing to give kindness without question, unlike Sophie's hateful family. Throw in a drop dead gorgeous vicar and his four year old son and a new best friend and I felt as at home there as Sophie did. 

I loved this book, it was comforting and enveloped me into loving arms, Sophie was so endearing and I was really rooting for her throughout.

The story was painful in parts, I guarantee you will be wanting to shout at the page when Sophie is berated by her family, joyful; I found myself smiling a lot, heartwarming, a gesture that Sophie's brother in law made brought me close to tears and totally uplifting, when Sophie starts to believe in herself.

Milly’s writing is such a joy and this book has now become my favourite of hers. It’s fascinating to see that well established and brilliant authors such as Milly can still keep evolving and keep us chomping at the bit for the next amazing book.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Milly Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As well as being an author of 16 published novels, 2 short story books and 2 novellas, she is also a copywriter for the greetings card industry, a poem and joke-writer, a columnist and a seasoned after dinner speaker.

She won the RoNA for Best Romantic Comedy Novel of 2014 and 2016 and the Yorkshire Society award for Arts and Culture 2015.


She writes about love, life, friendships and the importance of community spirit. Her books champion women, their strength and resilience and celebrate her beloved Yorkshire.

Her latest book - 'The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew' deals with a woman who has been conditioned since a child to be little more than a support for an important man. But there is much more to Mrs Mayhew than anyone who knows her - even her own family - could ever believe.

Milly's website is www.millyjohnson.co.uk. She is on Twitter as @millyjohnson, Instagram as @themillyjohnson and has a Facebook page @MillyJohnsonAuthor. She also has a monthly newsletter www.millyjohnson.co.uk/newsletter with exclusive, news, offers and competitions. 

Follow the rest of the blog tour here...

Author Q & A with Chrissie Bradshaw

  

Erin and Heather Douglas are struggling. Their mother’s sudden death has left a void in their family and everyday life has side-lined their dreams.

Erin has buried herself away in Magpie's Rest, the family home, and left her promising stage career. By hiding away, she is avoiding the pain of returning to London and the acting world where her ex-fiancé is enjoying success and a new relationship. When she meets charismatic Texan Jackson McGee, she wrestles with her feelings for him. Should she trust another man?

Heather is juggling babies, work, a rocky marriage and running on wine. An overheard conversation makes her ask, would Mark ever cheat on her? Can the sisters help one another to face their fears, dust off and revive those dreams and find joy in life?

Title: The Barn of Buried Dreams
Author: Chrissie Bradshaw
Published By: Amazon
Publication Date: 2nd October 2018
Links: Amazon

Author Q and A

Thanks for joining us Chrissie and welcome to the blog.

Did you always want to be a writer? 

In my late twenties and thirties, I juggled my career with being a single parent and my dreams of writing novels, finding my ideal man or travelling had to be put on hold. My energy was used up with the school run, a challenging job and after school activities. Luckily, I loved my job and loved my daughter so I was tired but happy and fulfilled. Those childhood years are precious and we can’t grab them back even though we sometimes think the summer holidays are never ending! My three dreams were buried away but eventually they all saw daylight. My younger self would be amazed to know that I'd be a happily remarried, well- travelled author, one day.


What other jobs have you had? 

I started out teaching and rose through the ranks. I was determined to succeed because I was a single parent who had a hefty mortgage. Eventually I became a headteacher. It's a ' jack-of-all-trades' position and, after discovering that many of my days were taken up with sorting out the blocked toilet, the leaking roof, the maintenance of school playing fields and other jobs that did not involve learning, I looked for something new. I became a literacy consultant for the city of Newcastle and left finance meetings, blockages and leaks behind without a glance. I loved getting back to young people, books and working to raise literacy standards in our inner city schools.

What made you write that first novel? 

It was a bloody great storm in my G cup that kick started it all! I was fit and healthy so I surprised when I found out I had an aggressive breast cancer but I didn’t ever think ‘why me?’ Why not when it happens to 1 in 8 of us women? I felt numb as I prepared for the treatments and prepared for the worst scenario. Would my time be far shorter than I’d ever imagined?

Secretly (I didn't want to upset my family) I set about writing a bucket list. I’m good at writing lists but not so great at carrying them out! This was the most important list I’d written. I thought about writing and the pleasure it gave me so that went on the list. I thought I would quite like to do a lot of things but nothing compared to writing. My real regret was not ever getting down to writing those novels in my head so my bucket list was short. Write a novel!

As soon as my ‘chemo fog’ lifted, I got to work on an idea I had been playing around with for far too long. At that point, I didn’t care if my novel was published or not as long as I finished it. That was my promise to myself.

How did it feel when your first novel was published? 

It was amazing and quite nerve-wracking waiting for the first sales and reviews. I got great pleasure every time someone took the trouble to write one! Like all authors, reviews are my feedback and help boost my sales so I can't thank readers who make time to review enough. I do love writing for the group of readers I have in mind and think of my readers as friends who, like me, love to escape into a book.


Can you please tell us a little about your publishing story. 

After a few months of agent rejections, some kind and some one-liners, I decided to find a publisher myself. After my cancer experience, I wasn't sure that I had the time to wait around for years to see whether my first novel would fit an agent’s list. I see now that I was impatient and I made mistakes. Luckily, I'm resilient and it's all about learning. I'm not with the publisher now - never explain, never complain - but I should have taken more time to consider. I eventually took my debut novel back, gave it a beautiful new jacket to match my new novel and embraced being an indie author. I've already said that we must help to make our own dreams come true. My books are out there now and proof of that.


What other books have you written? 

'A Jarful of Moondreams' was my debut novel. It tells the story of the Moon family's eventful summer involving sparring sisters, secrets spilling out of their ‘moondream’ jar and love is in the air. Because writing this was my escape from troubling times, it had to have an upbeat ending. Reading is all about escaping for a little while isn’t it?

The characters from this first novel cross over into my new release ‘The Barn of Buried Dreams’ but the novels are stand alone and can be read in any order.


Where is your favourite place to write? ( can we please have a picture)

I have an office to store things but I write in several ' hidey holes' around my house and I often write with my laptop on my knee in bed. I like a change! This is today’s writing corner.

Do your characters moods ever affect your mood and vice versa? 

Oh yes! I have to put the poor souls through the mill and then I feel dreadful leaving them there because I'm really fond of my characters. When I finish a book I miss them. That's how Heather Douglas, a minor character in my debut novel, reappears in a main role in this latest book. She demanded a storyline of her own. I really gave her a hard time.


What three pieces of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

1 Just do it. There's no right way. 

2 Go to conferences and mingle with people who love to write. Be a good listener and you'll learn.

3 Have a plan. Be realistic. Keep going until you finish that first draft. 

Which authors inspire you?

I have a huge list. At the top are JoJo Moyes, Marian Keyes, Jane Green, Lisa Jewell and Jane Fallon. 

What is your new release. 'The Barn of Buried Dreams' about? 

It's about sorrow and joy and how women struggle and juggle and often lose sight of their own dreams.


If your book was made into a film what song would you choose for the opening credits?

Hang onto a Dream - The Fleetwood Mac version is perfect for this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eDI6rfarNk


Who would you choose to play your favourite character in the film of your book?

I am a tiny bit in love with Jackson McGee, the handsome Texan businessman who harbours a secret and falls for my heroine, Erin. I hope my readers will fall for him too. He should be played by Scott Eastwood. Scott has his father Clint Eastwood's piercing eyes and is just the right age to play Jackson. 

About the Author

Chrissie Bradshaw, the 2016 winner of the Romantic Novelist's Elizabeth Goudge writing trophy, is a seasoned tea drinker and a tenacious trainer of her welsh terrier, Oscar. She likes the odd glass of prossecco too. Chrissie has always loved match-making a book to a reader. Writing the kind of book she loves to read takes this a step further. When Chrissie is not writing or reading, you will find her walking Oscar on the beach, trying to avoid the gym and spending time with her family and friends.

Chrissie enjoys tweeting to readers on @ChrissieBeee

Her instagram account is chrissie_bradshaw_author

Her blog is newhenontheblog.com

and she has a Chrissie Bradshaw author page on Facebook.
She would love to hear from anyone who reads this blog.