The Jam Factory Girls

 

The Jam Factory Girls is an uplifting and emotional novel of friendship set in the heart of pre-WWI London from bestselling author, Mary Wood.

Life for Elsie is difficult as she struggles to cope with her alcoholic mother. Caring for her siblings and working long hours at Swift's Jam Factory in London’s Bermondsey is exhausting. Thankfully her lifelong friendship with Dot helps to smooth over life’s rough edges.

When Elsie and Dot meet Millie Swift, they are nervous to be in the presence of the bosses’ daughter. Over time, they are surprised to feel so drawn to her, but should two East End girls be socializing in such circles?

When disaster strikes, it binds the women in ways they could never imagine. Long-held secrets are revealed that could change all their lives..

About the author

 

Born the thirteenth child of fifteen to a middle-class mother and an East End barrow boy, Mary Wood’s family were poor, but rich in love. Over time, she developed a natural empathy with the less fortunate and is fascinated by social history. Mary raised four children and has numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren. An avid reader, she first put pen to paper in 1989, and is now a full-time novelist.

Website

https://www.authormarywood.com

Twitter

Authormary 

My Review

Mary Wood really brings to life pre-war London through the lives of Elsie and her family. The reader is drawn into the story from the start and the portrayal of conditions in the jam factory is well researched and authentically detailed. When Elsie and her best friend Dot cross paths with Millie, their lives intersect in ways that they cannot begin to imagine. 

Mary's down-to-earth style perfectly captures the period through gritty realism and carries the reader along until the grand finale. A great story from a great storyteller.

Networking for writers

 

Networking for Writers

Are you swamped with book marketing and looking for a way to find new sales? Learn simple and effective networking techniques, to grow your readership and connect with other authors and book lovers, today!

Whether you are a new or experienced writer, self-published or traditionally published, this book will show you how to grow your readership and author network, through some of the most powerful of all marketing tools - word of mouth and recommendation.  

This book will show you:

How networking can help you sell more books.

Why author branding is important.

How networking hours work.

Specific Facebook groups for writers

How to utilise social media to grow your readership.

How not to waste valuable writing time.

How to make our marketing more effective.

Throughout Networking for Writers, we will explore running or attending book signings, hosting seminars, finding a writing buddy or mentor, author networking groups, social media planning and so much more. 

Purchase Link - viewbook.at/NetworkingForWriters

Author Bio – 

International bestselling author and award-winning inventor, Lizzie Chantree, started her own business at the age of 18 and became one of Fair Play London and The Patent Office’s British Female Inventors of the Year in 2000. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now works as a business mentor and runs a popular networking hour on social media, where creatives can support to each other. She writes books full of friendship and laughter, that are about women with unusual and adventurous businesses, who are far stronger than they realise. She lives with her family on the coast in Essex. Visit her website at www.lizziechantree.com  or follow her on Twitter @Lizzie_Chantree https://twitter.com/Lizzie_Chantree .

 

Social Media Links – 

Website: www.lizziechantree.com

Author page: https://www.viewAuthor.at/LizzieChantree

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizzie_Chantree

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizzieChantree/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7391757.Lizzie_Chantree

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_chantree/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/LizzieChantree/pins/

FB Groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/647115202160536/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lizzie-chantree

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizzie-chantree-03006425/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnCop-RlAcGqggZG3JfE-Mw

My Review

Like many writers without a background in marketing, I find self-promotion of my books both time-consuming and often ineffective. What Lizzie Chantree's book does, is give concrete examples of techniques that have worked for her and a timescale in which to implement them. 

There are useful hints for different types of social media, some of which I hadn't considered using for networking. In short, this book is everything you could wish to know about how to promote your book and I wish it had been available when I first started out. Even so, there are several things that I will take from it and put into practice this year. 

The Boardwalk by the sea - winter whimsy

 

Winter Whimsy

Zip up your puffer coat, winter has arrived!

When Lexi Davies discovers that her father has sold the fishermen’s cottages she runs as holiday lets and where she also lives, she is heartbroken. Then, when Oliver Whimsy arrives at the boardwalk and announces that he is the new owner, Lexi realises that the future she was looking forward to enjoying at her cottages is over. 

Oliver might be handsome, wealthy and very sexy, but he’s new to the island and has already made a terrible impression on the locals. When he offers Lexi a job, she’s unsure whether she should accept. Unfortunately, she has little alternative if she wants a roof over her head for the winter.

As Lexi gets to know Oliver better, she discovers there’s far more to Oliver Whimsy than she or anyone else had imagined. Just what is the heartache Oliver’s trying so desperately to hide and why was he so determined to buy the cottages? Lexi wants to find out, but in order to do so she’s going to have to spend time with him… 

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winter-Whimsy-Escape-Christmas-Boardwalk-ebook/dp/B08K3H8XZD/   

US - https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Whimsy-Escape-Christmas-Boardwalk-ebook/dp/B08K3H8XZD/

Author Bio

Georgina Troy is a pseudonym of author Deborah Carr, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Poppy Field, Broken Faces and the Mrs Boots series.

She was a finalist in the Contemporary Romance Category of the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards 2016 (RoNAs) with A Jersey Kiss, book 1 in her Jersey Scene series.

Georgina lives on the island of Jersey with her husband and three rescue dogs and is 1/3 of The Blonde Plotters.

Social Media Links – 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorginaTroyAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeorginaTroy

Instagram: @AJerseyWriter

My Review

Most books set by the sea take place in summer but the winter setting for Winter Whimsy is simply perfect reading for this time of year. It was great to see the characters 'out of season' and that the story takes place over several months, not just Christmas.

Georgina Troy's writing style carries the reader along and is as light and crisp as the first snowfall of the year. Her characters are so well drawn that I spent most of the book really disliking Lexi's father for selling the cottages. I like how Lexi is independent and doesn't just take the easy option offered and by the end of the book, the author skillfully makes us feel a little bit sorry for Lexi's father.

Editing your novel's structure

 

Editing Your Novel's Structure: Tips, Tricks, and Checklists to Get You From Start to Finish

Before it’s time to check for commas and iron out passive voice, fiction writers need to know that their story is strong. Are your beta readers not finishing? Do they have multiple, conflicting complaints? When you ask them questions about how they experience your story, do they give lukewarm responses? Or have you not even asked anyone to read your story, wondering if it’s ready?

If any of the above is true, you may need to refine the structure of your story. What is structure you ask?  Structure is what holds a story together. Does the character arc entrance the reader? Is the world building comprehensive and believable? These questions and more have to be answered by all of us as we turn our drafts into books. 

In this concise handbook, complete with checklists for each section, let a veteran writer walk you through the process of self-assessing your novel, from characters to pacing with lots of compassion and a dash of humor. In easy to follow directions and using adaptable strategies, she shows you how to check yourself for plot holes, settle timeline confusion, and snap character arcs into place. 

Use this handbook for quick help and quick self-editing checklists on:

- Characters and Character Arcs.
- Plot.
- Backstory
.
- Point of View.
- A detailed explanation of nearly free self-editing tools and how to apply them to your book to find your own structural problems.
- Beginnings and Ends.
- Editing for sensitive and specialized subject matter.
- Helpful tips on choosing beta readers, when to seek an editor, and a sample questionnaire to give to your first readers. 


Grab your copy of Edit Your Novel’s Structure today! Now is the time to finish that draft and get your story out into the world.

Purchase Links 

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Editing-Your-Novels-Structure-Checklists-ebook/dp/B08PSP82ZQ

US - https://www.amazon.com/Editing-Your-Novels-Structure-Checklists-ebook/dp/B08PSP82ZQ

Author Bio

Bethany Tucker is an author and editor located near Seattle, U.S.A. Story has always been a part of her life. With over twenty years of writing and teaching experience, she’s more than ready to take your hand and pull back the curtain on writing craft and mindset. Last year she edited over a million words for aspiring authors. Her YA fantasy series Adelaide is published wide under the pen name Mustang Rabbit and her dark epic fantasy is releasing in 2021 under Ciara Darren. You can find more about her services for authors at TheArtandScienceofWords.com. 

Social Media Links –   theartandscienceofwords.com, mustangrabbit.com

My Review

This is a useful guide, particularly aimed at debut writers. It has chapters on various kinds of structural editing which seasoned writers will be familiar with. The checklists are handy and the various reminders of plot and character arcs are well done. Overall, this is a useful book to dip into but there isn't really anything in it that isn't already out there. 

Shadows on the water

 

After the tragic death of her fiancé, Ava Warren is slowly rebuilding her life. She has a supportive family, great friends and a job she loves, managing holiday letting company Estuary Escapes in her home town of Kingswater. Another relationship is the last thing she wants or needs. Until one evening she meets Alex Penhaligon.

Alex has just returned home from California where he has been working for the past five years. A case of mistaken identity gets them off to a bad start. But discovering his error, Alex is anxious to make amends and soon persuades Ava that he’s not quite as arrogant as she thinks he is. As their friendship begins to turn into something much deeper, Ava wonders whether she can at last put the past behind her and make a new future with Alex.

But someone is watching. A man who not only thinks Ava should be his but also holds a long term grudge against Alex. And he’s determined to get his own way irrespective of the lengths he has to go to or who gets hurt in the process.

Set on the south coast of Cornwall, Shadows on the Water is a story of family ties, lost love and tangled loyalties. 

About the author

Jo Lambert lives on the eastern edge of Bath with her husband, one small grey feline called Mollie and a green MGB GT. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors.  She has been writing since 2008. Her first five books, a set of linked romantic sagas following the lives of several families in West Somerset, was followed in 2015 by Summer Moved On, a contemporary romance set in South Devon. A sequel, Watercolours in th Rain followed in 2017, 

 In June 2018 Jo signed to Choc Lit and her debut A Cornish Affair, set in North Cornwall, has just been published. Jo is currently working on another coastal romance, this time set in South Cornwall.

When she isn't writing she reads and reviews. She also has an active blog.  Jo loves travel, red wine and rock music and she often takes the odd photograph or two.

Social Media Links – 

Website: http://jolambertbooks.com

Blog: http://jolambertwriter.blog

Twitter: @jolambertwriter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jolambert185

Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jo-lambert-6 4644530

Instagram: jolambertwriter185

 

My Review

The story opens with the tragic
 
drowning of Ava’s fiancé. 

This sets the scene, as the reader

is now invested in Ava finding love 

again yet, as her fiancé was a

strong swimmer, there is an

element of suspense throughout.

 
Jo Lambert’s strengths are in

creating strong, realistic 

characters with a strong sense of 

place and we have both in oodles 

here. She also excels in creating 

unlikeable characters with flaws as 

well as an antihero who we 

eventually come to love.

This is delightful escapism at its 

best that I fully intended to finish 

during the summer. I can’t believe 

I didn’t read it earlier.