I can’t believe that it’s nearly the end of May already. Spring has been late arriving, but it’s here at last. Around the cottage, the lanes are full of wild flowers and bees, which is lovely. But there are also some horrible black fly-things, which look like huge mosquitoes and have no fear about flying directly into your face!
But isn't this blue bush in our garden lovely? It is full of honey bees from the farm next door. So far, Bodie, our young labrador, has ignored them, but I’m keeping my eye on him in case he decides to do some close investigation.
BOOK NEWS
I’ve got the best book news!! The sequel to Just Breathe – Unexpected Storm – will be released on 10th June. If you like to read on kindle, you can pre-order it now from Amazon. For some reason, you can’t pre-order paperbacks from them, but you can order a signed copy from my website, or wait until 10th June and order one from Amazon. If you have Prime, this is probably your best option, as you will have it the next day.
Unexpected Storm follows the lives of Charlotte and Linda in Warkworth. You might remember that at the end of Just Breath, Charlotte and Liam had got back together and Linda had left her horrible husband and was looking for her own house. This is the blurb on the back of Unexpected Storm:
“After escaping her stressful life in London and ditching her job as a solicitor in a prestigious city centre law firm, Charlotte has settled in Warkworth, a small village on the beautiful Northumberland coast. Her relationship with Liam is going well; she is in the process of opening up her own legal practice on the high street and is looking forward to being her own boss.
Linda is embracing her middle age. She has taken early retirement and has bought herself a bungalow overlooking the river. After finally leaving her vile husband, Phil, she too is her own boss. She can now sit and read all day if she wants to, without having to dance to anyone else’s tune. She can potter in her garden, without having to break off to make her husband’s dinner.
Both women have taken control of their destinies and are setting their own pace of life.
But unexpected storms always arise when everything is just beginning to look perfect.”
I’m so excited for this book to come out. It looks lovely next to Just Breathe, as the covers are similar. A few weeks ago, I had a stall at an artisan market at Holdenclough Nurseries between Clitheroe and Bolton-by-Bowland. It was a beautifully sunny day and the garden centre was busy. My stall looked quite good (even though I say so myself), but it will look even better with another book on there. I am back there on 10th June – so I will have brand new copies of Unexpected Storm by then.
WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
Last month I went to Wales for a week in a cottage with my husband and the dog. We stayed just outside Fairbourne, which is across the water from Barmouth. My dad and my stepmum used to have a boat at Barmouth, so it brought back some memories of my lovely dad, who died many years ago. It’s a beautiful place and the dog loved it. We spent a lot of time on the beach and having pub lunches - two of our favourite activities.
We also had a day out in Abersoch, because I’ve heard so much about it. The beach there is amazing – the white sand and blue sea could have been planted there directly from the Mediterranean. The village was a little disappointing, because not everything was open and the cafe that had been recommended to us didn't allow dogs. But we had a lovely meal in the pub, sitting outside in the sunshine. There was lots of activity in the shops and restaurants, painting and cleaning, so I assume everything will be open soon, if not already.
This is a photo of Bodie dashing around on Abersoch beach.
WHAT I’VE READ
I’ve read a couple of good books this month. The Beekeeper’s Promise by Fiona Valpy is a lovely story about resilience. It is about ordinary people in France during World War II and how their ordinary lives were affected by the German occupation. The beekeeper is a young woman who works in a chateau. The story flits back and forth from the 1940s to the present day, when another young woman finds a job at the same chateau. Highly recommended.
Another good book is Unwanted Inheritance by Imogen Clark. I’ve read a few of hers and this one is an easy read, perfect for when lying on a sunbed. I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book in one of Imogen’s competitions. The unwanted inheritance is a suitcase full of money that the family find under a bed, after their dad has died. There are suspicions that he was a slightly dodgy character, so one member of the family wants to report the money to the police and the others don’t, as they need it, for various reasons. It’s a good story about family dynamics.
If you have read any good books, please feel free to share them in my Facebook book group called Caroline Blake's Bookclub, and of course, if you have made any lovely cakes, please share them on my Facebook page, Caroline Blake Writer and Baker.
Until next time,
Caroline xx