I’m over at The Romaniacs’ blog talking about the renovation of our cottage in France which inspired my novella The French Retreat.
Source: Renovation of a French Cottage
Month: October 2015
The French Retreat – Post Publication Post
Just a quick post to say thank you to everyone who has bought, tweeted, shared and generally supported the launch of THE FRENCH RETREAT. It turned out to be a busy day as I also found out that THE HALF TRUTH was earmarked for a free promotion and will continue to be so until the end of the week and I received a very nice 4* review for CLOSING IN.
I’m visiting a few blogs over the next couple of weeks – if you get time, do pop along. In the meantime, I’m starting a new writing project and plotting the next book in the Falling for France series.
Thank you again, I really do appreciate everyone’s support.
Sue
x
The Art of Seduction – a guest post from Lorraine Wilson plus amazing #giveaway
Today I have a guest post from the lovely Lorraine Wilson who is talking about her new book THE ART OF SEDUCTION. I do love the cover and the story sounds exciting too. Here’s Lorraine to tell you all about it …
Recently I was lucky enough to meet Marian Keyes at the Cheltenham Literary Festival after attending her talk. She’s always been one of my favourite authors so I was thrilled to discover how lovely she is in person. She was charming, funny and inspiring. She made everyone feel she’d love nothing more than to sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with them. One of the things she said that struck me was how lucky she’d been to have so many disasters and suffer depression because it gave her lots to bring to her stories!
That made me think about what I’ve brought to The Art of Seduction, my latest novel.
Despite the title (a play on words because the hero is an artist) it’s not so much a story about sex as about connection. Both Laura and Jack had an expat childhood but reacted to it in different ways. Jack refuses to become too attached to anything or anyone because he knows how transient life can be. Laura on the other hand longs to settle down, to have a proper home and to belong somewhere.
What they both really need is to be brave enough to forge a connection and let go of beliefs that are holding them back. For them, sex is a doorway to experiencing a connection worth changing for. For Laura, sex with Jack is especially empowering.
I had an expat childhood myself so writing about home, identity and belonging was especially poignant. Also, somewhat ironically, I was once approached in the National Gallery by an artist who wanted to paint me. I declined as I was in a relationship and suspected he wanted to do more than just paint me but I was very flattered.
Some of the story comes entirely from imagination though. I’ll leave you to decide which bits those are 😉
The Art of Seduction (publication date 15th October, 2015) available here: hyperurl.co/artofseduction
Laura Baker has a plan. She’s going to make Jack McClaren, bad boy of the art world, face up to his responsibilities. Jack has a plan, to track down his elusive creative spark. When Laura ambushes him he’s found it. Now to light the fuse, sit back and enjoy the fireworks…
“If you love a sexy, sizzling book that packs an emotional punch, you’ve just found your perfect next read. Five sparkly stars from me.” Kitty French, USA Today Bestselling Author.
LAURA:
‘I live in London and work in a florists, though I do a bit of waitressing in the evenings as well, to make some extra money. With the mess my sister Sophie has got into we’re going to need every penny and it’s not like I can rely on Mum or Dad to help out.
It was through the waitressing temp job I finally found a way to turn things around, to make things right for my little sister. Going through the proper channels got me nowhere so I had to get…creative. The laws of right and wrong apply to everyone, or at least they should do. I admit Jack McClaren is super hot, after all I’m not blind, but he stands for all the things I despise – he’s feckless and irresponsible and it’s time someone made him pay. That someone is going to be me.’
JACK:
‘I should be in a great place right now, commissions have made me rich and critics have named me as one of the greatest portrait painters of the twenty first century. Apparently I’m the ‘bad boy of the art-world’, or so my publicist would have you believe. But I’ve got a problem, my creative spark is ominously absent, it’s been AWOL for a while. I’m busy procrastinating when Laura rockets into my life, bringing the elusive spark of inspiration with her. Sounds good, yes? Right up to the point when she opens her mouth and what she says…well, let’s just say her accusation leaves me reeling. It’s not long though before I realise I can turn the situation to my advantage. Seduction is an art and I’ve been told I’m a skilled artist in more ways than one. I’m all for taking opportunities to perfect my art. With Laura my plan is simple – light the fuse and then sit back and enjoy the fireworks.’
‘The Art of Seduction’ is a new novel to set your pulse racing from Lorraine Wilson, author of the bestselling Chalet Girl stories. It’s the perfect next read if you love Christina Lauren’s ‘Beautiful’ series or Alice Clayton’s ‘Cocktail’ series.
To celebrate publication of The Art of Seduction Lorraine is doing a mega-giveaway:
First prize: a Lorraine Wilson Design La Boutique shoulder bag worth £34.99, a set of Chalet Girl paperbacks, a tote bag, two brand new Clinique lipsticks, Clinique Take off the day make-up remover, Clinique samples, a Lorraine Wilson Design felt heart hanging decoration and an ebook copy of The Art of Seduction.
Two runner up prizes of: a paperback copy of Confessions of a Chalet Girl, a book bag, a Lorraine Wilson Design felt heart hanging decoration and an ebook copy of The Art of Seduction.
You can enter here:
The French Retreat – Cover Reveal
I’m really pleased to be able to share with you the cover and blurb for my novella THE FRENCH RETREAT.
The French Retreat is set in Southern Brittany where we have a second family home and so it seemed natural to use our cottage and the location as inspiration. I’ve wanted to write a book set in France for a long time and while I wait for feedback on book 4, I thought it was an ideal opportunity to do so. I’ve really enjoyed writing The French Retreat, so much so, I aim to write a few more novellas set in and around the area. For now, though, I’ll leave you with the cover and blurb.
The French Retreat is due to be released on 15 October.
With Christmas on the horizon, losing her job and her home wasn’t on Marcie Grainger’s wish list. In a bid to reassess her life, she heads off to the only place she has ever felt truly content – her brother’s farmhouse retreat in rural France.
Marcie isn’t the only one looking to escape. Ex-soldier Will hopes the gentle pace of French life will help to banish the ghosts of his past and offer him the fresh start he desires.
However, all is not what it seems at The Retreat. Fuelled by a string of strange happenings and local rumours, Will and Marcie are pushed together as they try to discover who or what is behind it all. In so doing, they end up finding a lot more than they bargained for.
The French Retreat is a story of human compassion, hope and love.
Sue
x
suefortin.com 