Q&A with Emma Bennet

 Welcome to The Comfy Chair Blog.. Emma Bennet 

Emma grew up and lived in London, before falling in love and moving to Wales to marry her own hero. Emma now lives with her husband, for children, and many animals a few miles outside of a small Welsh market town. She can often be found in rivers attempting to control two overexcited chocolate labradors.

1.      What was your favourite childhood book/author? 
Definitely Enid Blyton! I adored the Faraway Tree and the Famous Five, but I think the St Clare’s stories were my absolute favourite – I longed for midnight feasts, tennis matches, and the record player in the common room.

 

2.      What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 
I think I’ve just always loved reading and writing, and writing was a very natural occupation for me to turn to.
I began sketching out some ideas for books for pre-schoolers when my eldest son was a baby. Fast forward 16 years, and I have 4 full length contemporary romances published and 2 novellas as well as a children’s book called ‘The Snotty Princess’, released under my real name a couple of months ago.
I was first published about 7 years ago; I self-published my first romance, ‘The Green Hills of Home’, and was then with a publishing company for a few years before setting up my own publishers and bringing all my books out under that label, with ‘Starstruck’ being released at the beginning of 2020.

 

3.      Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos? 
Definitely neat and ordered! I’m a bit of a Monica and can never work surrounded by mess. In fact, my main procrastination when I should be knuckling down to write is cleaning and tidying.
I have 4 children and 2 dogs and I usually write at the dining room table so I can be in the middle of the action - I hate to feel like I’m missing out!

 

4.      What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 
The easiest part for me is coming up with an idea and sketching out the storyline – it’s my favourite part of the process. The hardest is probably final edits because they’re so bloomin’ fiddly.

 

5.      What does literary success “look” like to you?
It’s a dream come true for me to be an author, I don’t think I’ll ever fail to smile when I see my books for sale.
I write my books to bring a little joy into the world and so, for me, literary success is when a reader lets me know how much they’ve enjoyed one of my books, especially if it’s helped them through a rough time.

 

6.      How do you select the names of your characters?
The names usually come to me when the characters are beginning to come to life when I begin writing my first notes about whatever story has decided to start melding itself together in my head.
Sometimes I’ll ask on social media for suggestions. I did this when I needed a name for my hero’s estranged wife in ‘Starstruck’ – Genevieve Moore was the resulting name. Isn’t that just perfect for a movie star who thinks rather too much of herself?

 

7.      Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 
Not usually, but there is an appearance in ‘Starstruck’ by a character from my novella, ‘Just Desserts’, which I hope readers will enjoy! I wanted to add a little more to his story, and update his fans on what has gone on in his life after his happy ever after!

 

8.      What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
My books are pure escapism – you might not be sure how I’ll get there, but my characters will have their happy ending. I hope that readers can use my books to step outside of their troubles and worries and become immersed in my story, safe in the knowledge that everything will be alright in the end.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 I make AMAZING cinnamon rolls, pop round for a cuppa, and I’ll make sure there are some still warm from the oven!

    Starstruck 

When newly divorced Kate finds school friend, now super famous rock star Joseph Wild, on her doorstep, her whole quiet, ordinary life is thrown into disarray.

Joseph has broken up with glamorous actress Genevieve Moore, and needs somewhere to retreat to until the paparazzi interest in his marriage calms down. Kate agrees to help him out and drawn to his simple, self-effacing charm, soon finds herself falling in love.

But can she cope with the problems a relationship with such a high profile celebrity brings? What happens when he jets back to his regular life of stardom in L.A.?

And how will Genevieve react when she finds out Joseph has moved on? She can’t possibly allow anything to sully her ever-so carefully crafted public image.

Falling in love with a rock star is tougher than you’d think…

AVAILABLE HERE 

For more information:

www.emma-bennet.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/emmabennetwriter

https://www.instagram.com/romanceemma/

https://twitter.com/romanceemma

Q&A with Lynne Shelby

 Welcome to The Comfy Chair Blog... Lynne Shelby, author of ' The Summer of taking Chances.'

I write women’s fiction/contemporary romance. When I’m not reading or writing, I can usually be found exploring a foreign city, writer’s notebook, camera and sketchbook in hand, or in the audience at the theatre.

I live in London with my husband, and I have three adult children who live nearby.

1.      What was your favourite childhood book/author?

My favourite childhood book was Prince Caspian by C S Lewis, which I originally read when I was seven and re-read many times. I enjoyed all the Narnia books, but this was this was first one I came across – I remember seeing it in a bookshop, and thinking that the cover, with a boy galloping a horse through some woods, looked very exciting. Like so many children, I fell completely under the spell of a story about a magical land where animals could talk.

 

2.      What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I have a vivid memory of writing a story when I was five about sheep escaping from a field – although it was only three sentences long! When I was fourteen I submitted a novel I’d written to a publisher, and although they didn’t publish it, a kind editor sent me a letter encouraging me to go on writing – I’m so glad I took her advice. It was, however, several decades – and half a dozen manuscripts in different genres – later, that I ‘discovered’ romantic fiction, and realised that this was what I wanted to write. In 2014, I spotted a nationwide competition with the prize of publication for a women’s fiction/romantic novel, which I entered and won with the ms that became my debut novel, French Kissing, which was published in 2015.

 

3.      Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos

When my children were young, I wrote anywhere – in a car waiting for them to come out of ballet class, or in the kitchen while I was cooking – but when my eldest moved into her own flat, her old bedroom became my writing room, where I now have a desk set up under a window, and shelves for books. When I first start writing a novel, my desk is set out neatly, with just my laptop, a coffee mug and a couple of objects that I’ve chosen to inspire my story, but as I write, it becomes ever more cluttered, with pens and papers scattered across its surface, while post-its with my scribbled notes spread from my cork notice board to all around the walls, and reference books pile up all over the floor. I do tidy up the room between writing each draft of a book, but it soon returns to a state of creative chaos.

 

4.      What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 

The hardest part for me is getting to the end of a first draft. Advice for authors is to write a first draft as fast as possible without editing, but I must admit that I can’t always prevent myself from tweaking it as I go along – although this is something I’m consciously trying to avoid doing in my current WIP. The easiest part is the editing. I find it great fun to add details and colour to a story.

 

5.      What does literary success “look” like to you?

For me, literary success is having people read and enjoy a book I’ve written. When I see that someone I’ve never met has gone to the trouble of writing a glowing review or when someone comments on social media how much they’ve loved one of my novels, I’m a very happy author.

 

6.      How do you select the names of your characters?

My main characters tend to rock up in my head fully formed with their own names, demanding that I tell their story. For minor characters I choose names that I like, although I try to avoid picking the names of family or close friends. I find it fascinating how names go in and out of fashion, and I always check which names were popular in the year my characters were born.

 

7.      Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand?

I don’t have secret ‘messages,’ but I do sometimes put in an anecdote that a friend will recognise from being present at the event I’m describing.

 

8.      If your book were to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 

It’s a dream of mine to have one of my books made into a film! Several members of my family and a lot of my friends are actors, so I’d suggest to the casting director that they play my characters.

 

9.      What do you hope your readers take away from your book?

I hope that when my readers reach the last page of my books they are satisfied that my characters are where they meant to be.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

Genoa fruit cake, please – my favourite!

The Summer of Taking Chances

‘Ten years from now, imagine where we might be…’

When Emma Stevens was seventeen, she and Jake Murray were both living in the small seaside village of South Quay, dreaming of glittering careers on the stage. Jake left the village to go to drama school, and the following year, Emma planned to do the same…

Ten years later, Jake is living in London, a successful and well-known actor, while Emma is still living a quiet, uneventful life in South Quay, working in a local hotel. Then Jake returns to the village for the summer…

AVAILABLE HERE - OUT NOW!!

Q&A with Liz Hinds

  Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Liz Hinds, author of upcoming release, 'This Year Maybe.' 

My name’s Liz Hinds, I live in Wales, on the edge of the beautiful Gower Peninsula – the first Area of Outstanding Natural beauty to be designated as such in Britain – with Husband and George. You’ll hear plenty about them – and it won’t necessarily be complimentary – if you read my blog! (http://lizhinds.online/)

I love reading, writing, walking with George, fun socks, and ice cream, but not as much as I adore my grandchildren

1.  What was your favourite childhood book/author? 

Little Women was my absolute favourite but before that I have fond memories of a book about Pookie. I can’t even remember if Pookie was a bear or a creature, or what he got up to, but I just have this little spot in my heart labelled, ‘Pookie’.

As for Little Women, of course I wanted to be Jo, even though I didn’t think seriously about that for a long time. Still haven’t forgiven her for not marrying Laurie though.

2.   What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 

Although I was good at writing essays, through school and university I took the science route. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that the church I was part of set up a local newspaper and I got involved with that, and, as they say, it just went on from there.

3.  Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos? 

No question, creative chaos. I have the habit of jotting things I think are important or want to remember down on scraps of paper, which then litter themselves – nothing to do with me – across my desk. I am trying to be more organised and write everything in a notebook but, well. My desk is also home to stones painted by grandchildren, and another notebook of Welsh – I started learning online during lockdown. At the moment there’s also a t-towel that I brought in to mop up the water I spilled.

4.   What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 

Having ideas is easy. Facing the fear when it comes to putting them on paper terrified that they’ll not live up to the promise in my head is hard. Letting the characters write their own stories is easy. Writing it for them and making it fill enough pages – I am by nature a short writer, if you understand me – is hard. But nothing is as hard as marketing and promoting. Although I’m now on my third published novel I’m only just beginning to realise that books don’t sell themselves. (Just look at my sales figures …) So I’m doing courses, watching videos, learning new things, going from excited enthusiasm to mind-boggled misery in the course of a few hours each day.

5.  Which other authors are you influenced by?

Katie Fforde is my favourite of that genre (whatever that would be) and I love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels. And I adore the style of Fredrik Backman though I have yet to emulate him.

6.   What does literary success “look” like to you?

Lots of people reading and loving your books.

7.  How do you select the names of your characters?

Do you know I don’t have a clue? I’ve tried to think before about why I decided to call this person Alison and that person Trisha, for example, but it must be a magical process that just happens.

8.  Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 

So deep are they buried that no-one has ever found one. Or maybe I’ve not even thought about a secret message. Hm, now, what would I want to impart to those in the know?

9.  If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 
When I wrote my first novel – many years ago – I cast the now late Alan Rickman as the male lead. He was the only one I’ve ever seen so clearly and that was mainly a case of heard, as in the male character, David, has a sexy voice. I shall have to think about casting for my new novel.

10. What do you hope your readers take away from your book?

A smile, a warm feeling – or from my first and newly-released novels, that ‘At least I’m not as dopey as Alison.’

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

A Welshcake or three.

This Year Maybe (sequel to This Time Next Year)

Release date: 25^th November 2020

Alison and David have been engaged for so long that even Alison’s mother has given up asking when, but it’s second time around for both of them and they’re not in any particular hurry. That said, Alison is beginning to wonder if living with her has put David off the idea of marriage so when he suggests they set a date she is delighted. But that date is six months’ away and a lot can happen in six months – especially if you’re Alison!

‘My son’s been arrested, Great-aunt Millie's fallen in love, my best friend suspects her husband of having an affair, and I still need to lose weight. How on earth can I think about getting married?’

Available to pre-order HERE

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Liz Hinds Website http://lizhinds.online/

SIGN UP to Liz's occasional newsletter about books, writing and reading, life, and a bit of Welsh learning. If you sign up now you can get a free copy of my first novel, This Time Next Year, the prequel to This Year Maybe.

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Q&A with Shirley Mann

 Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Shirley Mann, author of recent release, 'Bobby's War.' 

I am a journalist who worked for the BBC for most of my career,  for programmes such as Woman’s Hour and Countryfile. I then started up my own media company producing films for organisation such as Natural England and the National Heritage Lottery Fund. I was thinking of retiring when I thought it would be a really good idea to ‘just’ see whether I could write a novel. I have just been signed for two further novels so bang goes retirement. I live in the glorious hills of Derbyshire and have two daughters and a ‘granddog’ ( I know, say nothing!)  

 

1.     What was your favourite childhood book/author?
I absorbed all books but The Faraway Tree and The Water Babies have a special place in my heart.

2.    What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 
I have always needed to write from when I would write stories for my sister and I – as the heroines, obviously- and I became a journalist for that reason but novel writing?-- Well, that only took me until I was 60 until I thought I’d give it a go.

3.     Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
One day I will be neat and ordered but, at the moment, I move around the house taking my piles of rubbish with me. Sometimes, it’s on the sofa with a cushion on my knees under my laptop, sometimes at the dining room table but for some reason, hardly ever in the little office we have- that’s too much like a proper writer. Strangely the best place I have ever written was in the café at Ikea. No idea why but it worked really well and I love writing on trains. I often think all I have to do to finish a novel is to set off from Land’s End and go up to John O’Groats. That would do it.

4.     What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 
Easiest is writing the words ‘The End’, the hardest is the bit beforehand.

5.    Which other authors are you influenced by?
All of them, I get something out of every writer’s style. Many of them make me feel completely inadequate, others make me feel I can do better- especially with endings. I hate it when they think it’s clever to keep you hanging.  I think I am aiming to create heroines like Georgette Heyer did- all with very different but distinctive personalities. I wanted to write novels that were an easy read but an intelligent read and oh, did I ever want to make sure they were page-turners? I read so much and so many different types of books but often it’s a chore to pick them up. I want to be taken away to another world but it has to be a well-written, well-researched world.

6.     What does literary success “look” like to you?
 People. I had a comment from a reader yesterday that said she stayed up until 1.30am reading my first book and couldn’t put it down. I get a huge kick out of people’s enthusiasm and when a 26 year old says she got through Lockdown with ‘Lily’s War’ because it made her realise what young people went through in the war, it makes me feel very humbled. I also want desperately to do justice to my parents, whose wartime romance started me off on this journey, and to the wonderful former WAAFs, ATA pilots and Land Army girls I interviewed- they helped me recreate their very personal war and told me wonderful details that aren’t in the history books. If I do justice to their legacy, I will feel I really have achieved something.

7.    How do you select the names of your characters?
Sometimes, they just come to me  because they seem to suggest themselves to me but graveyards are good!

8.    Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 
I was about to say no, but the first one was based on my parents and for the family, I think there will be memories that I have that would have been lost. Certainly, in ‘Lily’s War’ my heroine’s parents are my grandparents and their house and life has now been immortalised in that book and I hope will allow future generations to understand what their ancestors were like.

9.     If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 
Someone asked me this question the other day and I thought maybe Lily James could be Lily ( and yes, it would be handy she has the same name) and I did think Andy Burnham could be Danny! Maybe a younger version might be necessary but he has all the attributes and certainly the twinkling eyes!

10.  What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
An escape from Covid and maybe an appreciation that at least, we’re not being bombed from the air for six years. But I really would like people to look again at old people and, a bit like the film ‘The Notebook’, realise that they were once young.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 

Oh, I think a chocolate brownie but actually a chocolate brownie goes well with any book. It helps you get through some of the award winners that are sheer hard work but it also feels gloriously indulgent when you’re gobbling up the pages of a real winner. I hope people think my books are like chocolate brownies- delicious, fun but full of goodness.

Bobby's War
Release date: E book 29^th Oct and paperback 19^th March, 2021.

Red-haired Roberta, Bobby for short, is an Air Transport Auxiliary pilot. She has a frantic schedule delivering planes all over the country and flies everything from a Spitfire to a Wellington bomber. She navigates the country but when it comes to the secrets of her dysfunctional family, she finds that controlling a huge, four-engined bomber might just be easier than controlling her own life.

Available to purchase - HERE

Follow Shirley on Twitter - @shirleymann07
For more information - https://shirleymannauthor.home.blog/

GUEST POST - The Summer House in Santorini: What’s in Anna’s Beach Bag - SAMANTHA PARKS

With great thanks to Samantha Parks for providing this wonderful guest post. Enjoy!

The Summer House in Santorini: What’s in Anna’s Beach Bag

For any romantic novel heroine on a Greek island, a good beach bag is an important accessory. Not only does it look cute, but it makes sure you have everything you could possibly need to find yourself, find love and find a little bit of adventure. For Anna Linton from The Summer House in Santorini, the ultimate beach bag contents look a bit like this:

Two phones: her Greek phone and her US phone

Let’s be honest, Instagram isn’t going to scroll through itself, so the US phone has to be there for any WiFi-enabled downtime. The Greek phone is for calling Nikos to give her rides up and down the hill between the resort and the summer house.

Her camera (plus an extra battery, an extra memory card and sometimes even an extra lens)

For any budding photographer, having equipment on hand for whenever the moment may strike is CRUCIAL. Anna always has her camera ready to go so that she can capture the sunset, or maybe just a photo of Elena posing weirdly on someone’s garden wall.

Her white crocheted bikini

Because Nikos keeps dragging her off on spontaneous adventures, and she’s learned to always be prepared. She could probably find something less ~sexy~ since she’s trying to keep things platonic, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the appreciation.

Sunscreen

Because Anna’s pale New England skin is NOT built for the heat of the Aegean sun

A letter from Giorgos to Grace

As much as she wanted to collect her inheritance and leave, Anna’s grandparents gave her a box of her father’s old letters to her mother, and she can’t help but read them over and over, trying to make sense of who her father was and what secrets her mother has kept from her.

Euros

Mostly for buying more bougatsa. If you know, you know.

To read more about what Anna gets up to this summer in Greece, grab The Summer House in Santorini by me, Samantha Parks, just 99p/$2.99, out 7 August!

Purchase Links:

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Summer-House-Santorini-Samantha-Parks-ebook/dp/B07JHLMQFV

US - https://www.amazon.com/Summer-House-Santorini-Samantha-Parks-ebook/dp/B07JHLMQFV 

Author Bio

Samantha Parks is the pen name of Sam Gale. Her pen name comes from her late

grandmother Velma Hobbs nee Parks, who was one of Sam's greatest role models. Sam was born in North Carolina but now resides in Bournemouth, UK with her husband Alex. She owns a successful marketing company and is enjoying her slow descent into "crazy plant lady" status.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/samanthajgale

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

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

Website/blog: https://www.samanthaparks.com/

How many books - Target or Pressure?

New Years Eve 2018 and it's about that time, you know what I'm talking about - the time each year where we all rack our brains, think back over the past 12 months and forward to a brand spanking 365 days of gleaming, new opportunities. Many of us make resolutions; to lose weight, stop smoking, save money etc etc. Half hearted attempts at self improvement that generally don't last until the end of January let alone the year. It's also the time book lovers gather together their lists of 'best reads' or 'ones to watch.' 

I've previously spoken about the self imposed book buying ban (The Book Buying Ban - How to tackle the TBR pile) and how sticking that out for January would never be repeated, but there is something I have done this year as I did in 2018 - set a Goodreads reading challenge target. 

I started late in 2018 - around July time - and set what I thought was a ridiculous number of 50 books. My intention was to add the books I'd read before July, as many as I could remember anyway. I was thrilled as I saw the count go up and up, it really spurred me on. The more I read, the higher it got and the more I wanted to consume any old book I could get my hands on (not hard when you have what seems to be a TBR mountain in your bedroom). 

I completed the challenge - people that know me say I did it easily - and at the end of 2018 I'd finished up reading 69 books. To be honest I thought it was a bit of a fluke.

Deciding my target for 2019 was probably more difficult than it needed to be. 

I didn't want to set it too high as I would hate not to achieve it but then I didn't want to set to too low and it seem silly.

When I had a figure in mind I asked the opinion of my sister and my Mum. They watch me read, they think my book buying habits are hilarious. They have a wonderful ability to know what I think of a book as I am reading it - usually by the pace at which I am reading, the face I pull or the fact that when they speak to me it doesn't register and they have to repeatedly call my name to get my attention.

I told them my target was going to be FIFTY again. I though this was realistic as I work full time and often do things at home, I have a little craft business and attend craft fairs regularly so I am often making stock - I thought fifty would be a great number of books for the year. They laughed - real full on laughter - and just shook their heads in disbelief. Both agreed my target should be 80. I wasn't having it, nope, not with how much of my time is used elsewhere - but I did decide to set my challenge at sixty. 

Four months later and I'm sat questioning if the challenge itself is a good thing or if it is putting pressure on yourself to ensure you meet that number.

I adore Goodreads; I love the way you can keep track of what you've read, what you thought of the books, the authors etc. I enjoy how you can see what you're friends and people with similar book tastes have read, enjoyed and reviewed. It's a great way, for me, of keeping track of what I have read because I didn't really before. I have the intention and would start lists or use address books so I could put them in by author but I used to lose interest or the book.

I mentioned that previously I had felt spurred on, motivated to read knowing it would add to

my tally.. but is actually is it a level of pressure that I don't need adding to my life? Am I really enjoying all the books or just zipping through them for the sake of increasing my number?

So far 2019 has been a lovely year, some AMAZING books, some wonderful ARCs have come my way and I've found some great new authors - would I have come across them regardless of the challenge I've put on myself - yes. Have I had the challenge in my mind with almost every book I've read? Yes. 

I've noticed I don't just read now, I also know which "number book" it is. Should that really be what I care about when reading a book, what it takes my tally to? I've also noticed that I compare my number of reads to that of my friends on Goodreads, I just can't help myself.

I'm not a competitive person by nature, not at all but with this I've woken some kind of weird competitive vibe in me that I dislike. I love that anyone reads any amount, I celebrate when I know people love a good book and when they find an author or genre that they like, I actively go out of my way to share the love of a book, pass books on and make recommendations - so why do I care about the number of books anyone else has read?

As of 7th April my Goodreads Reading Challenge total: 

Not even four full months of the year and I have already reached my target. I have read some incredible books  and genuinely, I don't feel like I have ever read for the sake of my target but I do wonder without it, would I have read this many books by now?! More importantly - would I have cared? 

My sister teases that even her target for me (80) is going to look silly by the end of the year but who knows. The reality is that I could amend that Goodreads target but I know I won't. I'll leave it as it is, hopefully as a reminder that it doesn't really matter.

Reading is loving a book, enjoying the stories that are created, the characters that become friends, finding authors that give us tears, heart break, love and hope - it's why we all stick our head in a book, lose ourselves in a different world and do it over and over again. 

Will I even set Goodreads target next year? Probably.
Will I increase my target next year? Probably not. 

The Book Buying Ban - How to tackle the TBR pile.

As an ardent book lover, buyer and as a library regular, I am always surrounded by books; old, new, second hand, borrowed. I love buying new releases, I desperately hunt down favourite authors in charity shops and I navigate straight to the book aisle when I do the weekly shop. I love adding books to the 'Tower of TBR' - even if it wobbles, I merely see it as a challenge to build it higher.

I know this is not unusual; it may even remind you of yourself. I mean, we all have massive TBR piles don't we?

So why a book buying ban?

Just before New Year I had a vague count up of the books I had yet to read. Littered across shelves, the bedside table, the drawers, the dressing table.. and it was A LOT. Let's say it was roughly 50...ish (OK OK, more toward 65..ish).

It surprised me; I don't know why as I had bought them all but I was still shocked it was so many. Although I read steadily and always have at least on the go, the pile never seems to go down. So I came up with the (some would say) drastic plan to have a month where I bought NO books. Ridiculous right? No new books, no e-books, no charity shop books - none at all. 

I don't really make New Year resolutions but thought this could be an interesting way to start the year- save some pennies and tackle that TBR Pile. Mind firmly made up, I even roped in fellow book reviewer, Kirsty from Kirstys Book Buying Addiction - (https://kirstysbookbuyingaddiction.home.blog/) 

As 2019 hit, our self imposed ban took hold. Many of the book loving community we love being part of on Twitter were surprised, some laughed and didn't believe we could do it whilst others openly admitted they couldn't do it. Let me tell you, I wasn't fully convinced I could myself.

I saw review after review of amazing books, I got emails about new releases that I just knew I'd love, every shop and supermarket seemed to be teasing me with glorious looking shelves of books with gorgeous covers and what was with all the emails with special discount codes for all of my favourite book buying sites?!

I'd say the first week was easy, just reading books from my TBR pile and loving them. I was making a brilliant start to this years Goodreads reading challenge (I set my target at 60) and was really pleased with myself - HA a month was going to be a piece of cake!

Slowly, as we settled into January and I went back to the day job the more I began getting twitchy - seeing books sneaking up on me and teasing me with their wonderful covers and descriptive synopsis. Reading books in the TBR pile was one thing but it meant I was discovering authors I hadn't read before and upon loving what I read, I wanted more.

Middle of the month was the worst, deflated after the festive period and general winter blues - usually I would pick myself up with a little dabble on Amazon or a trip to The Works. So I started to tease myself - creating wish lists on Amazon of all the books I would be buying if I wasn't on this ban. I'm not sure why I was intent on making life harder for myself but I clearly was.

Although I nearly broke once or twice and even though I was desperate for certain titles - I suffered on and as we got to the 22nd, 23rd, 24th of January I realised the end was in sight. I was going to be able to do it. 

I originally set the ban so I could tackle the TBR pile - the books I had selected to buy over however long it had taken me to amass such a collection but had never actually read. You know what, the ban worked - during January alone I read 20 books!

Now February is here and normal service has resumed. I would love to say I maintained a stoic view of not needing to buy more books, persevering with demolishing the wonderful TBR tower but that would be a lie. 

I think putting myself on a ban may have been a bad idea, stored up the problem and now February has come along and unleashed all that book buying energy. 

I have purchased a few books - I think it may be 25 ish books. OK, so I went a little bit crazy, splurged a little (a lot) but I'm determined it was just this month and I will be trying curb my booking buying for the rest of the year (month)... 

But can we all agree: Pre-orders don't count do they?