Sunkissed: Effusions of Summer by Various Authors

A while ago, Meryton Press (who publish mainly Austen-inspired fiction) ran a short story competition. The story had to be romantic, and have a flavour of summer. The four stories judged best would be included in this anthology, along with four stories by some of Meryton Press’ established authors, J Marie Croft, KaraLynne Mackrory, Linda Beutler and Karen M Cox. This review is a little long, as I have done mini reviews of each story.

Meryton Press Short Story Contest

As you might well be aware, a while ago Meryton Press ran a short story contest, with the four stories judged best being included in a summertime collection of stories. The resulting book is 'Sun-kissed: Effusions of Summer', which is available to buy now, and is off on a blog tour very soon.

Meryton Press have announced that they are having another contest for inclusion in an anthology, this time with a theme of celebrations at the tail end of the year. Read on for more info!

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Winners - One Love, Two Hearts, Three Stories by J Dawn King

We had such fun on J Dawn King's guest post, I just checked my blog statistics and it's the most viewed post I've ever had! Although it's too late to enter the competition you are more than welcome to come over and have your share of the conversation, click here for the guest post.

Joy has chosen the winners for me. If you know Joy, you will know that she is a very generous lady, so we have ended up with some extra winners! I'll now pass over to Joy so she can give you details.

Winners - Pride & Proposals

Last week I welcomed Victoria Kincaid to talk about what made her start writing Austenesque stories, and to share an excerpt of her new book, Pride & Proposals. You can see her post here. Victoria kindly offered a giveaway of one paperback and one ebook of the story. Today my children randomly selected the winners, and they are:

Guest Post and Giveaway - One Love - Two Hearts - Three Stories - J Dawn King

I am very pleased to be welcoming the lovely J Dawn King to my blog today. She's come here to talk about her inspiration and if you read on you will see details of more than one international giveaway. So without further ado I'll pass over to Joy.

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David Gandy: Photo - 2012 Elle Style Awards

I deeply appreciate your invitation to be a guest on your blog, Ceri. I am happy to be here. And, I’m happy with the release of my latest book, ONE LOVE – TWO HEARTS – THREE STORIES: A Pride and Prejudice Anthology. For your viewing pleasure, here is my inspiration for Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in all three stories. (I did change his eyes to dark brown in one just to change things up a bit.) Are you surprised it’s not Colin Firth or Matthew MacFadyen? For this book, it was David Gandy, U.K.’s #1 male Super Model all the way. Why? Besides the stunning good looks, he loves cars, books, and puppies. How could he not be the Darcy we all know and love?

Planned Reading for June 2015

Well, my friends, I had a disastrous month for reading in May! If you didn't know, I had an accident earlier this year which left me pretty immobile for a long time and during May I was given the go-ahead to get back to things, so I've gone from doing hardly anything except for sitting down to doing a lot which has had a bad effect on my reading. I got hardly anything read at all (sob!). I've also been doing a bit of early reading, which is enjoyable, but it doesn't count as a book read and I can't blog about it because everything is so subject to change.

I am hopeful I can get back to things in June, though I am going to be working full time for the first time since I had children which is going to take some getting used to. If you don't hear much from me in June you will know I'm either trying to catch up with the cleaning or I'm an exhausted husk of a person!

Aside from the books from May that I didn't manage to get to I have a couple of new reads planned in for June.

Winners - An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl by Abigail Bok

Earlier today I got my family to draw names for the winners of the giveaway for paperback copies of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl', an update of 'Pride & Prejudice' set in California in 1999. Without further ado, the winners are:

Pride & Proposals by Victoria Kincaid - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I am welcoming Victoria Kincaid to my blog with a guest post. She has also provided me with an excerpt of her new book, 'Pride & Proposals' for you to enjoy, and as if that wasn't enough, she is kindly offering an international giveaway!

Here's the blurb:

What if Mr. Darcy’s proposal was too late?

Darcy has been bewitched by Elizabeth Bennet since he met her in Hertfordshire.  He can no longer fight this overwhelming attraction and must admit he is hopelessly in love. 

During Elizabeth’s visit to Kent she has been forced to endure the company of the difficult and disapproving Mr. Darcy, but she has enjoyed making the acquaintance of his affable cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.  

Finally resolved, Darcy arrives at Hunsford Parsonage prepared to propose—only to discover that Elizabeth has just accepted a proposal from the Colonel, Darcy’s dearest friend in the world.  

As he watches the couple prepare for a lifetime together, Darcy vows never to speak of what is in his heart.  Elizabeth has reason to dislike Darcy, but finds that he haunts her thoughts and stirs her emotions in strange ways.   

Can Darcy and Elizabeth find their happily ever after?

By the author of The Secrets of Darcy and Elizabeth, an Amazon Regency Romance Bestseller.

Read on for Victoria's guest post about how she came to write Austenesque fiction, and details of a giveaway...

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Review - An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl by H. Abigail Bok

This week I've had author Abigail Bok visiting the blog. She arranged for me to interview 'A Lady' who is mysteriously visiting from the past. Abigail is kindly offering an international giveaway for 3 commenters on the giveaway post to each to win a copy of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl'. You can get an additional entry to the draw by commenting here on my review too. Read on to find out what I thought of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl'...

Cover Reveal - Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer from Meryton Press

You may remember, a while ago, that Meryton Press had a short story competition. The four stories deemed best by the judges would be included in a summer anthology. The finished book is due to be released sometime in June so to whet your appetite for it, here is the cover and a bit more information on the authors: