Tag Archives: The Faerie Tree

Jane Cable joins my Christmas Countdown!

Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , ,

A HUGE welcome to my good friend and fellow Apricot Plotter, Jane Cable, as she joins my Christmas Countdown!

It’s lovely to welcome you to my blog, Jane. With Christmas fast approaching, your post and novel offer a timely reminder that, for some, this can be a difficult time of year …

The Faerie Tree opens at Christmas and it’s a desperately sad time. Izzie is newly widowed and she and her daughter are facing their first Christmas alone. But when Claire takes her mum for a festive latte to cheer her up, Izzie bumps into a tramp and is sure she recognises him.

“So who do you think he is, Mum?”
“Someone I knew before I started my teacher training. I was filling in time selling stationery and he was the office manager at one of the big firms of solicitors.”
“Office manager? Wow – I wonder what happened to him?”
I shrug. “People’s lives change. The last time I saw him he was wearing a suit.” But it’s a lie and I know it; Robin was naked – his face buried in a pillow, our duvet twisted around his legs.

Robin spends Christmas on the streets and Izzie spends it thinking about the past. So on Boxing Day she sets out to find him.

I’ve read The Faerie Tree and this emotive scene has stayed with me since. For those who would like to know more, here’s the blurb:

In the summer of 1986 Izzie and Robin hold hands under the Faerie Tree and wish for a future together, but hours later tragedy rips their dreams apart.

In the winter of 2006 Izzie spots a down-and-out on the streets of Winchester – a man who looks very familiar.

The Faerie Tree pieces together Robin’s and Izzie’s stories as they try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of their brief affair so different? And which one of them is right?

Buying links: Amazon 

It’s been fascinating for me (and I hope the followers of my blog) to discover how the authors stopping by will be spending Christmas, so I have to ask you, Jane, how will you be spending this festive season?

Since moving to Cornwall we always spend Christmas at our beach house on the north coast. We never let it out over the festive season because it’s so wild and wonderful we just want to be there.

For the last few years we’ve had friends to stay, but this year we’ll be on our own so we can have a leisurely start to the day. But at eleven o’clock we’ll be on the beach, cheering on our neighbours who brave the sea for a festive swim. Every year I say I’ll join them and (so far) every year I’ve found an excuse not to.

After that we’ll pop back home to put the joint (usually rib of beef) in the oven, then it’s off over the cliffs to the pub. It’s normally packed to the rafters for a couple of hours and it’s great to catch up with everyone. We’ll have our meal in the late afternoon and then will probably curl up on the sofa at watch a Christmas favourite, like Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather.

I don’t blame you for avoiding the dip in the sea, and I love the sound of the festive catch up in your local (great picture). Before you go, I must ask you to answer five of my festive selection of quick fire questions:

Black forest hot chocolate or gingerbread latte? Gingerbread latte – every time. We even buy the gingerbread syrup from Starbucks so we can make them at home. I haven’t forgotten I’ve promised you a Black Forest Hot Chocolate though 😉 I forgot to claim this on our recent meet up – you know that means we’ll have to do it again!

Must read Christmas book? Heidi Swain’s. Her Wynbridge novels are so stuffed full of Christmas they’re addictive and over the last few years have become an important seasonal tradition for me.

Favourite Christmas song? Fairytale of New York – it’s festive yet subversive, sentimental and cynical, all at the same time. It’s the only song I’d ever attempt at karaoke – Shane MacGowan’s part, of course.

Who did you play in the school nativity? I was almost always the narrator, and when we progressed to nine lessons and carols I normally read the last lesson. I remember being an angel once when I was very small, but I think I bent my wire coat hanger halo.

 Angel, fairy or star on top of your Christmas tree? Owl.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, and though I am sure we will chat again before Christmas arrives, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a very merry festive season. xx

About the author:

Jane Cable writes romance with a twist of mystery. She enjoys Christmas far more now she’s moved to Cornwall where they do it so well.

Discover more about Jane and her work, here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Apricot Plots | Sister Scribes .

Don’t miss author Sue Moorcroft, joining my Christmas Countdown, on Thursday 12th December! xx

Happy publication day, Jane Cable!

Book Review, , , , , , , , ,

Today I am wishing my dear writing friend, Jane Cable, a very happy publication day for her haunting love story, Another You!

I read an earlier version of Jane’s book and so, not only am I super excited for her, I am also delighted to share my review.

The blurb:

Sometimes the hardest person to save is yourself… 

Marie Johnson fell in love with The Smugglers pub when she first moved to Dorset with her husband, Stephen. But when Stephen’s wandering eye caused the breakdown of their marriage, and the costs of running the pub started to mount, Marie felt her dreams crashing down around her.

With local celebrations planned for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Marie is hopeful things will turn around. But she could never have predicted the ways her life will soon be changed forever.

A charming American soldier walks into Marie’s life, but it becomes clear nothing is really as it seems…

Why is Marie suddenly plagued by headaches? Is her American soldier everything he seems to be? Or could the D-Day re-enactments be stirring up something from the past…?

Genre: Romance | Paranormal romance
Published by: Sapere Books

My review:

As I have come to expect from Jane Cable, Another You is a story that makes you think, that makes you question your understanding of what you have read and inspires you to want to read on.

I was fascinated, not just because of the well crafted and intriguing characters but also because of the historical references and the representation of the impact of war. It is well researched, with interesting historical detail throughout.

The characters, like the landscape in which they live, are brought to life well. While there is the question of who the heroine will end up with, I felt the book explored a variety of different relationships between the characters with equal importance.

For me, the central theme was the discovery of self, as the heroine, Marie, as well as others in the story embark on attempting to understand their identity beyond the expectations and issues that have impacted upon their lives.

An enjoyable, interesting read, that turns into a speedy page turner towards the end.

Buy the book here.

About the author:

Jane Cable says, “Perhaps writing is in my blood. My father, Mercer Simpson, was a poet; my cousin, Roger Hubank, a novelist; Roger’s uncle, John Hampson was also a novelist and fringe member of the Bloomsbury Group. And it’s even rumoured that John Keats is somewhere back there in the family tree.

“No wonder that I have always scribbled. But it took me until I was in my forties to complete a full length manuscript. And then another, and another… Writing stories became a compulsive hobby. I could lose myself in my characters, almost live their lives, and I started to long for readers other than my mother and a few close friends to be able to do the same.

“It was reaching the final of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition in 2011 which made me take my writing seriously. I went to a self publishing conference organised by the Writers & Artists Yearbook and was inspired by the speakers to publish independently.

“My first novel, The Cheesemaker’s House, was published by Matador in September 2013 and tells the story of Alice, who moves to Yorkshire following the breakdown of her marriage and meets her new neighbours from the present and the past. It was a finalist in the Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition and won Words for the Wounded’s independent book of the year award in 2015.

“My second book, The Faerie Tree, is a second chance novel also published by Matador. This time the mystery revolves around a couple who meet twenty years after a brief affair only to discover that their memories of it are completely different.

“My latest book, Another You, is OUT TODAY with Sapere Books. Marie Johnson feels her dreams have been shattered, but commemorations surrounding the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day become the catalyst for change she never could have imagined.”

Discover more about books by Jane Cable here: Facebook | Twitter | website | Chindi Authors | Apricot Plots | Sister Scribes .

Enjoy your special day Jane, I can already see Another You flying up the rankings! xx

 

Remember, Remember … Bonfire Night Memories with Jane Cable

Guest Post, Writing & Reading, , , , , , , , , , ,

Continuing the celebration of a special bonfire night in my novel The Purrfect Pet Sitter, I am delighted to welcome fellow Chindi and Apricot Plots author, Jane Cable to my blog to share her bonfire night memories. Jane made the move from West Sussex to Cornwall in 2017 and reflects on her first bonfire night in Cornwall.

Cornwall does winter really well. When the tourists go home the celtic heart of the county seems to re-emerge; firework displays followed by Christmas lights – community events in just about every town and village – chasing away the darkness in a way that even our distant ancestors would recognise.

In the past I’ve dreaded the short days but here it seems different. Here people seem more in touch with the land, the sea and the sky. That’s not to say it’s talked about – it just kind of is.

Last year was my first bonfire night as a Cornish resident and it also marked the time of year when we take back our beach house in Porthtowan, which we let to holidaymakers from Easter to the autumn half term, and make it our own again. So it was particularly special to wrap up in coats and scarves and walk down the hill to the low sand dunes behind the beach, knowing we were back in the village for winter.

The whole village – and more – turned out. The bar nearest the beach was overflowing and there was total traffic chaos, but we found a place on the edge of the dunes and waited. All around us children played with sparklers and glo-sticks, families mingling as we waited for the main event.

Photograph by Blue Six Photography

The firework display itself was spectacular; multi-coloured rockets launching from the beach, illuminating the cliffs and filling the sky before sparkling down to the waiting waves. It was spell-binding, breath-taking – all the more because we were home.

Your Cornish bonfire night celebrations sound perfect, Jane. Thank you so much for sharing them and I hope this year’s celebrations are as spectacular. x

About Jane Cable:

Jane writes romance with a twist of mystery and has recently signed a deal for two timeslip novels with Sapere Books. Find out more at www.janecable.com or follow Jane on Twitter.  Jane is also a member of the Chindi Authors and Apricot Plots. She has published two previous novels with Matador:

The Cheesemaker’s House

When Alice Hart’s husband runs off with his secretary, she runs off with his dog to lick her wounds in a North Yorkshire village. Battling with loneliness but trying to make the best of her new start, she soon meets her neighbours, including the drop-dead gorgeous builder Richard Wainwright and the kindly yet reticent café owner, Owen Maltby.

As Alice employs Richard to start renovating the barn next to her house, all is not what it seems. Why does she start seeing Owen when he clearly isn’t there? Where – or when – does the strange crying come from? And if Owen is the village charmer, what exactly does that mean?

“I desperately want to find out about Owen; a fascinating character… the gift here is to make you want to read on.” Jeffrey Archer

Genre: Romantic Suspense | Publisher: Matador
Buy the book.

The Faerie Tree

How can a memory so vivid be wrong?

In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours tragedy rips their dreams apart.

In the winter of 2006, each carrying their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And which one of them is right?

With strong themes of love, grief and family relationships, The Faerie Tree is a contemporary women’s novel as gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable’s first book, The Cheesemaker’s House, which won the Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Show’s People’s Novelist competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense, and folklore.

Genre: Romantic Suspense | Publisher: Matador
Buy the book.

Don’t miss more fabulous firework memories from fellow authors between now and November 5th, and as always, do get in touch. I’d love to hear your firework memories too. x