Cover Reveal - The Forget Me Not Flower Shop by Tracy Corbett

Publication day: July 3

The summer romance novel that everyone is talking about!

Evie runs a florist, The Forget-Me-Not Flower Shop. A new man is not what she needs, but can plumber Scott Castillo fix her boiler and thaw her heart too?

Scott is trying to balance paying the bills with caring for his sick mother and parenting his nephew, Ben, who at 18 is marrying his girlfriend Amy. Amy’s mum Patricia hides her husband David’s infidelity from their hopelessly romantic daughter. Patricia’s tennis partner Martin moans about his inability to satisfy his wife, Laura, who helps brides find their perfect dress for their dream wedding, despite her own marriage being a mess.

Who will fall in love, and who will fall apart? Will the budding romance between Evie and Scott flourish or wilt?

This is the perfect read for fans of Lucy Diamond and Rachael Lucas.

Working in the committee of a club

I have been the the committee of my choir for a bit more than a year now. I have learned a lot, been to several meetings and I did a lot of work. I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences here.

Last year I took over part oft he media and communication side of the work. That meant I was responsible for a lot of different things. One part is writing the sponsor file. It’s what we send to our potential sponsors with all the information about the next concert. There included is the actual piece we are singing, more details about it and background info, also about the composer. Everything about the choir, the orchestra, the conductor and possible soloists. Of course we talk about the concert location and what we actually offer them in return. Connected to this is writing the programme for the concerts, with lyrics etc. I’m also the direct contact person fort he printer, so I send them all the files and organize who is picking it up.

Something I’m not doing anymore, but did in my first committee year is everything connected to Facebook, our website and newsletter. We have a team of writers and that „writing committee“ meets about twice a year. I was the leader for that team for a year. We discussed the articles for the website and also for our bulletin, which is sent out once a year to friends of the choir. Usually there is a new article on the website every month. That one is also shared on Facebook and we also share pictures and other things on Facebook. I handled that last year. The bulletin is a big thing and a lot of work, because everyone had to send me their articles, I had to put it all into the layout and send it to them again to correct. Then I sent it to the printer and afterwards it had to be packed in envelopes with the flyer and everything. It wasn’t y favourite thing to do, because people didn’t send me articles on time and it got very stressful. I’m very happy I don’t have to do that anymore, I just have to send the finished piece to the printer. We started sending out a newsletter as well and I prepared everything for that and sent it. That’s also a thing I’m not doing anymore.

So, I now said several times that I don’t do that work anymore. The reason for this is that we had a meeting in the media/communication area and we distributed the tasks differently. Instead of handing website, bulletin, newsletter and facebook I now am the contact person for media. That change made sense, because I have all the information and texts already for the programme and the sponsor file.

I do all this work voluntarily. I have a full time job, so I usually do this work in the evening or on the weekend. A thing that proved to be great, is working during my holidays, because I can get much more work done. Of course I don’t always do that, but when I’m home and the weather is terrible, it’s the best time. I really got into a rhythm this year and finally figured out what to do when. Of course that changed a bit now, because I don’t have to do certain things anymore and got some new tasks.

The other committee members are great to work with. We usually have a lot of fun during our meetings and everyone really does a great job, which makes things easier. My mum used to be in the committee of out theatre group and there it’s wasn’t always easy and she had to do a lot of additional work. When she left, everyone wanted me to take over and they couldn’t understand why I chose the choir over them. The main reason for my decision is the organization. In the choir everything is organized and people are doing their job, not in that other committee. My mum had to do so much additional work and people were just not grateful. That’s why I’m really happy with my decision.

Even though it is a lot of work, I enjoy it and it also gave my another role in the choir, which I quite like.  People always under estimated me and that’s not the case anymore.

We have some new committee members now and the president changed as well, so I’m curious how it will go.

We have a concert at the end of June and after that it’s “Musical Classics” at the beginning of next year. I’m very excited for this one and also to organize things around it.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip to something I do next to my job. Are you doing something similar?! What are your experiences?

The Big Little Wedding in Carlton Square – by Lilly Bartlett

Original Cover

My own copy

The blurb:

When Emma’s boyfriend Daniel pops the question with a ring the size of a small country, she suddenly realizes just how different their worlds are. She wants a low-key wedding with close friends and family, while Daniel’s mother is expecting a society party that their high-brow guests won’t forget! While Emma is envisioning the town hall and Uncle Colin’s pub for the reception, future mother-in-law Philippa is talking chandeliers, silver wedding favors and chocolate fountains… 

How on earth can Emma put together a vintage champagne-sodden celebration - fit for Lords and Ladies - on a beer pocketbook? Not to mention the fact her cross-dressing Uncle Barbara wants to be a bridesmaid, her best friend Kelly can’t stand Daniel’s best friend Cressida, and her dad is too proud to accept any help from Daniel’s family toward the costs. 

There are three months to go until the big day. But will it be memorable for all the wrong reasons?

My Opinion:

*Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

I was really excited when I found out that Michele Gorman was starting a new series using her pen name Lilly Bartlett, so here we go with book one.

The story follows Emma and Daniel, who are happily engaged. However, it's only after the engagement when they start realizing how different their worlds aftually are. They come from two very different families, which makes wedding planning a bit tricky. 

I loved reading about the two families and them getting to know each other and fini g a way somehow. The characters are great fun and a lovely mixture of personalities. I felt like there was no real start to the story, it just stared in the middle of something.

Some secrets are added to the story, one of them being very lovely and everything together created a wonderful atmosphere. This is a lovely, vivid, light, bubbly and fun read, full of exciting scenes. Can't waut for the next part of the series now!

Rating: 

Lilly Bartlett on Twitter: @MicheleGormanUK Website: https://www.michelegorman.co.uk Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US

Guest Post: Friendship by Katey Lovell

Right from the earliest planning stages, I knew The Café in Fir Tree Park was going to explore all manner of relationships.  My debut novel (The Singalong Society for Singletons) focussed mainly on Mon and Justin’s long distance relationship, sibling bonds and the dynamics between a large group of friends.  Although community and belonging is also a big part of The Café in Fir Tree Park, I was keen to create a diverse mixture of relationships this time around.

Cross-generational friendships were something I was desperate to portray well in the novel, especially as it’s something I love reading about myself.  Café proprietor Maggie has a close-knit relationship with her ex-husband’s aunt Pearl (who is twenty years her senior) and also waitress Fern (nineteen years her junior).  Reflecting on my personal experience of having a brilliant relationship with my best friend’s parents encouraged me to think about how important age gaps are in friendships.  My conclusion, and Maggie’s too for that matter, is ‘not very’. 

I did return to exploring the bond between siblings through Maggie’s grown-up children Kelly and Josh, although their relationship is far more fractious than the sibling solidarity Mon and Hope had in Singalong. 

Then there’s love – it’s me, of course there’s love! – in a variety of guises.  First love, unrequited love, forbidden love, second-chance love… you name it, if it’s love, there’s a good chance there’s at least reference to it in this book.

The Café in Fir Tree Park also explores parenthood and parent/child dynamics, as well as the importance of bonds across the wider family unit. For example, Lacey, who’s using the park to train for a half-marathon in memory of a family member who died from cancer, has a strong bond with her uncle Carrick, and Warren was very close to his Grandma who also recently passed away.

And with Pearl’s dachshund Mitzi causing havoc, the bond between pets and their owners is covered too!

I really hope readers will find the characters in The Café in Fir Tree Park relatable and that they’ll enjoy getting to know them.  Some of this cast have had a particularly rough ride…

About the author

Katey Lovell loves love and strives to write feel-good romance that'll make you laugh and cry in equal measure. When she's not writing she'll most likely be found reading or watching musicals.

Originally from South Wales, Katey now lives in Yorkshire with her husband and son.

Katey Lovell on Twitter: @Katey5678

Katey Lovell on Amazon