It's Romance Week, and Valentine's Day tomorrow, and all my books are still on sale for just 99p/99cents each.  For less than £4/$4, you could get the whole series and follow the adventures (romantic and otherwise) of Abi and her rockstar lover Gideon.  From Cornwall, to South Wales, Paris,  New Zealand, New York, Seattle, Martha's Vineyard, and more.

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Jen has been with Michael for nearly four years and when she discovers she is unexpectedly pregnant she is delighted, but anxious.  None of Michael’s previous relationships have lasted beyond four years, and she is concerned hers may go the same way.  When she arrives home and finds he has traded his sensible family car for a motorbike, she is even more worried.  So before telling him about the baby she decides to do some detective work and try and discover why his other relationships failed.  This self-imposed mission takes her from her home in Norfolk all the way to Cuba.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found Jen a very likeable main character.  Most of the book is told by Jen in the first person, and in the present tense.  The rest is from Michael’s POV, (mostly flashbacks), in the third person and in the past tense.  Although I don’t normally like reading books written in the present tense, on this occasion it worked very well with the two styles complementing each other brilliantly.  It gave the different POVs a completely distinct feel.  
 
The book was a rollercoaster of emotions.  I cried on several occasions, laughed on some and actually shouted at Jen out loud on one occasion!  The author captured the atmosphere of both the Norfolk coast and the more exotic Cuba beautifully, and her descriptions were delightful.
 
I would highly recommend this as a great book to curl up with on a chilly day.  A lovely read.

​I received a free copy of the book from the author in return for an honest review.

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Buy the book on Amazon here

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Just to cheer up the dreary, cold, winter days, I'm having a sale of all my books from 3rd to 17th February. The Kindle versions will all be available from the usual online outlets for just 99p/99cents each.

That of course means you could get the whole series for less than £4/$4.  :-)

And then, when the sale is over and you've run out of things to read, I have a new book coming out.  :-)  

Not sure of the release date yet, but I've had the final cover art, so it won't be too long.  This new book is not part of the NightHawk Series, this is a standalone romantic comedy.  Read more here for a little taster of what it's about.  More to come soon.

​Click here for purchase information for the NightHawk Series.  

​Happy Reading!

Well last week was pretty busy in our house.  

On Monday our sixteen year old son started at Plymouth Art College (he got lost on the way, but that's another story and I'm pretty sure he'd rather I didn't tell it here!), and so far he's loving the course, and has made loads of new friends.

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​On Wednesday our daughter gave birth to her first baby, thus turning us into grandparents.  That's a very scarey thought when you still feel nineteen inside!  Baby Harlie Eliza weighed in at 7lbs 7.5oz and is absolutely gorgeous.  :-) 

Also on Wednesday, I signed a contract for my fifth book!  That was pretty exciting too, and I'm really looking forward to this one coming out.  It's totally unconnected with my previous books, and is more of a romantic comedy.  Not sure when it'll be out yet - sometime in the New Year I would guess - but I'm already getting excited!  So watch this space for more news as it comes in.  Or sign up for my newsletter to be kept fully informed.  

 

I'm very excited to reveal the cover of my new book, The Girl in the Painting!  This is the fourth book in the NightHawk Series, featuring Abi Thomson and Gideon Hawk, and this time the story takes us to Paris.

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As well as reading and writing novels, Liz enjoys John Hughes films – which will become obvious when you read her new book -  science fiction box sets, reality television, Irish sausages and ginger beer. She has a degree in Communication where she specialised in Film Studies and Photography.  She lives in Birmingham with her husband and their beagle, Mary. 
 
 
When did you first decide you wanted to be a writer, and what was it that triggered your decision?
 
I didn’t really decide I wanted to be a writer! I thought I’d have a go one afternoon a few years back. I was entering a competition to write the opening chapter of a novel and thought it would be fun. The day after, I uploaded what I wrote onto the now defunct Authonomy website and the full manuscript was requested by a Harper Collins editor.
 
 
What was the first thing you wrote?  I’m not asking about school essays here of course, just proper writing.
 
Five Go Glamping was the first thing I wrote.
 
 
Did you do any creative writing as a child?
 
Yes, everyone does at school. I remember writing poems at primary school. They tended to be about the seasons as I remember.
 
 
Having read both of your books I feel I’ve got to know the characters pretty well.  Are they based on people you know (or yourself even), or do they stem entirely from your imagination?
 
No, they’re not from people I know, although some of the things the customers say in Don’t You Forget About me are things that customers have said to me when working in a video library myself!
 
 
Do you have a particular time of day that you find is best for writing, and if so why is that?
 
Afternoons are normally best for me, but I have no idea why. I’d like to write in the morning and have the rest of the day to myself.
 
 
Also thinking about the new book, have you ever had your John Hughes moment?  If so, when and where, who with and what were you wearing?
 
My wedding reception! It was at the Irish centre in Birmingham and we had our first dance to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I was wearing my wedding dress which was a very pale gold satin- more of a prom dress really than a wedding gown.
 
 
And still on that note, which one are you?  Brain, Athlete, Basket Case, Princess or Criminal?
 
Brain!
 
 
I love your first two books so I hope there’s some more to come.  Can you give any hints about book number three?
 
No, I don’t have any clear plans at the moment- have tons of ideas but nothing that’s a definite as yet. 



So now you all know a little more about Liz, let's see what her book is all about....

An athlete, a princess, a brain, a criminal, a basket case…Cara Dunham is definitely one of them. But stuck in her small hometown, with no prospects of escape, she's struggling to find her thing. Her life is more book club than Breakfast Club and there is no Judd Nelson in sight!
So when Cara is invited to a school reunion she knows this is her chance to channel her inner Molly Ringwald and grab her John Hughes moment, once and for all. Because her teenage love, Daniel Rose will be there, the coolest boy at school and the one that got away.
But transforming into an 80's icon isn't easy and Cara enlists the help of her oldest friend, Stubbs, to teach her all she needs to know about being cool and quirky – a la Ringwald.
Except Stubbs thinks she’s perfect, just as she is and takes it upon himself to show Cara that her life might not be ‘movie perfect’, but there is always another take to get things right. And maybe the hero she's dreamed of has been under her nose the whole time…

Well the blurb certainly makes it sound attractive.....

My Review:

Don’t You Forget About Me is Liz Tipping’s second novel, and having thoroughly enjoyed her first, Five Go Glamping, I was naturally very excited to read this one.
 
I wasn’t disappointed.  In fact I can honestly say I loved this book.  It kept me reading right into the night – under the covers with a torch, like a naughty child – because I couldn’t bear to put it down.
 
The main character, Cara, is so easy to identify with and I love that in a heroine.  She is a totally normal girl, unsettled in her job, wanting more but not knowing exactly what.  Except she would like to be like Molly Ringwald.  Obsessed with John Hughes movies, and with Molly Ringwald in particular, Cara spends a lot of her time trying to work out which movie character she was like, or should aspire to be like. 
 
When she gets invited to a school reunion she enlists the help of her old school friend Stubbs, with her quest, at the same time failing to see that he likes her the way she is.  (I have to admit to developing a little bit of a crush on Stubbs…..)
 
I loved Cara, completely understood her self-doubt that had gestated since her school days, yet also got extremely exasperated with her on occasions, actually finding myself shouting at the book once or twice!  I got totally caught up in the story and desperately hoped the outcome would be satisfactory. 
 
But I’m not going to tell you whether it was or not since I don’t want to give too much away, but suffice to say this is a very enjoyable read, perfect for the beach, or to curl up with on a cosy afternoon. Or to read under the covers with a torch of course….
 
I award it a very well deserved 5 Stars.

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You can get your copy from Amazon and all you need to do is click on the book cover and it will take you straight there.  Enjoy it, I did.  

I think I may be sticking my neck out here writing this, and risking making myself look stupid, but I really do need to have a rant!

Does anyone else out there think the BIDMAS rule is ridiculous?  I was reasonably good at maths at school.  I got a pretty decent O'level - probably equivalent to a B at GCSE, but I just don't get BIDMAS.  It's just not logical to me at all.

Here's an example:

In my mind the sum below goes this way: 

1 + 5 x 6 -1 =  35   You just go from left to right in order and end up with an answer.  Simple.  And perfectly logical.

But apparently if you apply BIDMAS the answer is:

1 + 5 x 6 - 1 = 30

Now - if that had brackets in that would be fine.  I understand brackets.

1 + (5 x 6) - 1 = 30  You do the brackets first, then the other stuff in order.  But without the brackets the answer should be 35.  

Does anyone else agree with me that this crazy rule must have been invented by a sadistic mathematician just trying to confuse innocent people?  Or am I missing the point?

Anyway, as you can see I get quite het up about this and you're probably all thinking I'm crazy and a bit thick, but I would love to know if anyone out there agrees with me!  Please leave a comment if you do, I'd love to know I'm not alone!  :-)

Over the past year I've bored everyone senseless with pictures of my weekend baking antics.... here's today's offering by the way....

Well it's the weekend again and I'm supposed to be editing the final galley of my next book.  So naturally I gravitated towards the kitchen with thoughts of chocolate cake running through my head.  I'd just make a quick cake then get back and edit another twelve chapters so I can feel smug.  That was the idea.

Now I just wonder if this has ever happened to anyone else.  If it hasn't, take it as a warning!  There I was enthusiastically beating my cake batter, thinking how scrummy it looked, when the handle of the wooden spoon got stuck in the numerous bangles I was wearing round my wrist.

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I'm supposed to be starting writing a new book today.  Or to be more specific I was supposed to start yesterday.  I even have a possible title, and names for my hero and heroine.  I have the whole day more or less free for writing and what have I been doing?  Yep, procrastinating, as usual.

Here's a picture of my first piece of procrastination ......