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St. Peter Port Guernsey, St. Helier, Jersey: The beginning of a Summer Adventure for Stella, or was it?

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The Sania stayed docked in St. Peter Port in Guernsey for hours, well, maybe just over an hour - but it was driving me insane with impatience. I leaned over the side and watched people coming and going. Oh, hurry up! How long did it take to get on and off a boat for heavens sake?!
Later:
I stood up, leaning over the rails, no longer feeling sick, just starring as Scott's island took shape. I could see rocks and flower-sprigged cliffs and little white sandy bays...and then , as The Sarnia slowed towards St. Helier, the imposing sight of Fort Regent high on its granite hill, towering into the sky. I practically jumped up and down with excited anticipation. I'd made it! I was in Jersey! Almost...

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Spring and Summer photos with my phone camera.

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I spent a lovely day at The Vyne, which is a 16th century Tudor mansion which has been added to over the years by members of the Chute family. It is now owned by the National Trust and is situated in Sherbourne St John, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG24 9HL. It was built for Lord Sandys, Henry V111's Lord Chamberlain. Various owners of the house have been obliged to take the name Chute in order to benefit from various wills throughout the centuries. Photos on my blog. Jane Risdon

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‘We were just wondering,’ the blonde nurse said, ‘if you were in a rock group or something…’

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There was a bit of a stir from the cubicles and two of the young nurses appeared and shimmied across.
'We reckon you were the group appearing with Doc Holliday and the Cards, in Dunstable,' the small nurse said, excitedly.
'Yeah, dead sexy you were and we tried to see you afterwards but the bouncers wouldn't let us near...' the darker haired one giggled.
'That was us,' Josh beamed. 'And I'm gutted that you couldn't meet us after the gig. We could have given you - um -our autographs.'
'We can still do autographs,' Zac grinned, 'in exchange for phone numbers.'

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Tim Walker: Author of Guardians at the Wall is my Guest Author

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A group of archaeology students in northern England scrape at the soil near Hadrian’s Wall, once a barrier that divided Roman Britannia from wild Caledonian tribes. Twenty-year-old Noah makes an intriguing find, but hasn't anticipated becoming the object of desire in a developing love triangle in the isolated academic community at Vindolanda. He is living his best life, but must learn to prioritise in a race against time to solve an astounding ancient riddle, and an artefact theft, as he comes to realise his future career prospects depend on it.

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Shh…It’s Our Secret by Lizzie Chantree

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Violet has a secret that could change the lives of everyone she knows and loves, especially the regulars at the run-down café bar where she works. After losing her parents at a young age, they are the closest thing she has to a family and she feels responsible for them.
Kai is a jaded music producer who has just moved outside of town. Seeking solitude from the stress of his job, he’s looking for seclusion. The only problem is he can’t seem to escape the band members and songwriters who keep showing up at his house.
When Kai wanders into the bar and Violet’s life, he accidently discovers her closely guarded secret. Can Kai help her rediscover her self-confidence or should some secrets remain undiscovered?

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The Dorchester Hotel, Carnaby Street, Lady Jane, Lord John, Pop, John Steven. The Who, The Mojos, Hair with Oliver Tobias…

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Hello - we are Renza Rossi and Stella Deacon, and like most girls in the 1960s we kept diaries. Proper written diaries – with daily entries from 1968 through to the end of the decade, chronicling our life, the fashions, the music, the excitement – and our love affairs….Which, is just as well – because although we didn’t know it, and we certainly didn’t know each other, miles apart geographically and with totally different lifestyles, we were both in love with the same boy…How this came about, the ups and downs, the laughter, the tears, the heartbreak, and how it was resolved – all played out to a 1960s background of love and peace and rock’n’roll - is covered in the amalgamation of our diaries – which we’ve put together and called ONLY ONE WOMAN. We very much hope that they’ve whetted your appetite and you’re now longing to read the rest.

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Smorgasbord Book Review– #Short Stories–Undercover Crime Shorts by Jane Risdon

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Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
This week my review is for Jane Risdon for her collection Undercover: Crime Shorts. About the book Under one cover for the first time a collection of Crime Shorts from Jane Risdon featuring previously unpublished stories which will have you on the edge of your seat. There is an extract from Jane’s forthcoming novel…

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CHAT AND SPIN Radio – I’m on the Morning Show with Lester Jones.

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Only One Woman is more than a complicated and intense love story, it is a social comment on the late 1960s and features many references to the music, fashions, food and beverages, and the Cold War, the Moon landings of the era.
We nattered about Only One Woman, which is the fab novel I co-wrote with award-winning, best-selling author Christina Jones (writer of Bucolic Frolics), and which is set in the late 1960s UK music scene. A love triangle between two girls, Renza and Stella, and guitarist Scott, of Narnia's Children.

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Tom Williams: My Guest Author can Tango Something Wicked on his Book Tour

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Tom Williams is my Guest Author: In an attempt to break away from the Napoleonic wars I have been experimenting with writing some stories set in the here and now. (Well, not quite now because I find covid restrictions a bit limiting for my characters, but near enough.) And because I wanted to escape the restrictions put on an author who writes a lot about real historical events I decided to move into the world of fantasy. Hence my Halloween 2019 novella, Dark Magic, a story of supernatural intervention in the world of stage conjuring. People seemed to like it, with its rather tongue-in-cheek take on the horror genre, so I’ve produced my first full-length contemporary novel, Something Wicked.

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We kept diaries with all our secrets…

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Hello - we are Renza Rossi and Stella Deacon, and like most girls in the 1960s we kept diaries. Proper written diaries – with daily entries from 1968 through to the end of the decade, chronicling our life, the fashions, the music, the excitement – and our love affairs….
Which, is just as well – because although we didn’t know it, and we certainly didn’t know each other, miles apart geographically and with totally different lifestyles, we were both in love with the same boy…
How this came about, the ups and downs, the laughter, the tears, the heartbreak, and how it was resolved – all played out to a 1960s background of love and peace and rock’n’roll - is covered in the amalgamation of our diaries – which we’ve put together and called ONLY ONE WOMAN.
We very much hope that they’ve whetted your appetite and you’re now longing to read the rest…
Meantime take a look around.
We are in Paperback from Waterstones, and Amazon and available for Kindle and Kindle for PC.
With love,
Renza and Stella XXX

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Thrilled to bits to announce I now have an Agent…

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In December 2019 I entered into discussions with an International Literary Agent interested in representing me internationally. I hadn't even considered getting an agent, but having been approached and after doing my homework, I was prepared to give the idea consideration. One year later, after lots of discussions, I am happy to announce that on December 10th, 2020 I signed an agreement with Langtons International Literary Agency based in New York, USA. I am now represented by their founder, Linda Langton.

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International Best-selling Maggie Tideswell, author of Finders Keepers: An Almost Gothic Love Affair, is my last Guest Author of 2020

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A bride is sent off into the unknown to marry a stranger on All Hallows Eve, October 31, 1749. What she finds on her arrival is enough to make her skin crawl.
Limping footsteps, blood-curdling screams, smoking torches, and a house on a cliff... A man she only sees in the dark, his breathing labored behind a mask.
“A betrothal is as good as the wedding vows. You cannot leave.”
“Am I your prisoner?” "You shall stay here until you bear me a child. Then you can stay or go, the choice shall be mine!"

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Christmas 1968 finds Stella recovering from a life-changing operation, Renza is seething at being forgotten and Scott is cold, tired, hungry, and bewildered…

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Jane is chatting with her host Linda, on the global internet show for authors, The Authors Show, about writing Only One Woman with lifelong friend and author, Christina Jones, the inspiration for their collaboration, and more. She reads from Renza's diary - June 1968 - when Renza visits Carnaby Street for the first time and sees the coolest people up close.

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My Guest Author is Lizzie Chantree: International Best Selling Author and Networker. Her latest book is Networking for Writers.

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In my new book, Networking for writers, I talk about ways to grow your readership and author network. Marketing your own work can seem very daunting, but that can be turned around to make marketing something you look forward to. It doesn’t have to eat into precious writing time, or push you into procrastination because you aren’t sure which direction to take next.

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Monaco, Hollywood, Big Bear Mountain Lakes, Eastern Europe, and Murder.

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19 5* reviews including:
5* C. Plunkett: Fast-paced, page-turner of murder, mystery short stories. Reviewed in the United Kingdom Fast-paced, well written, page-turner that had me so engrossed my train journey flew by. The author clearly has done a lot of research, these short stories all felt very authentic and each had me gripped and on the edge of my seat wondering how they would play out. It’s been a long time since I read anything quite so intriguing and twisty. It certainly got my heart beating faster and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great murder, mystery.

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Vesta Curries, Fray Bentos Pies, Watneys Party Seven, Top of the Pops, Ready, Steady Go! Two Red Shoes, Elgin, Ballerina Ballroom, Nairn, Watford New Penny, Samanthas New Bond St, Radio One, Radio Caroline, Carnaby Street, and an epic love triangle…

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If you can remember the Sixties you weren't there, is what they say. Christina Jones and I remember only too well, and we were there. read about the adventures of renza, Stella and Scott, in Only One Woman. Get the Sixties Vibe.

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More Wanderings with my Phone Camera

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Winkworth Arboretum and West Green House and Gardens are National Trust properties and if you are not a member you can pay an entrance fee. The Savill Garden is part of the Crown Estate and has an entrance fee for non members, payable at the entrance. I really hope you enjoy my wanders and will come back again. I featured […]

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I’m Digging Deep with Lorraine Mace today where my characters plan a hit…

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Fast-paced, well written, page turner that had me so engrossed my train journey flew by. The author clearly has done a lot of research, these short stories all felt very authentic and each had me gripped and on the edge of my seat wondering how they would play out. It’s been a long time since I read anything quite so intriguing and twisty. It certainly got my heart beating faster and I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great murder, mystery. Reader, C. Plunkett

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Gilli Allan: a Chest full of Secrets, Archaeology, Illustrations, and her brand new cover is revealed here…

Buried Treasure with Gilli Allan
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Buried Treasure by Gilli Allan...
Jane thinks he sees her as shallow and ill-educated. Theo thinks she sees him as a snob, stuffy and out of touch.
Within the ancient precincts of the university the first encounter between the conference planner and the academic is accidental and unpromising. Just as well there’s no reason for them ever to meet again. But behind the armour they’ve each constructed from old scars, they’ve more in common than divides them. Both have an archaeological puzzle they are driven to solve. As their stories intertwine, their quest to uncover the past unearths more than expected.

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David Videcette: My Guest – former Counter Terrorist Detective turned Author: ‘I can’t tell you the truth, but I can tell you a story…’™

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Originally posted on Jane Risdon:
I am thrilled to welcome author David Videcette to my blog this week – Author – Media Commentator – Detective I think you are in for a treat as we discover more about his career in Counter Terrorism and his writing. You may well have seen him on TV and heard him on the Radio…

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Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Meet the Authors 2021 – #Memoir D.G. Kaye, #Thriller Iain Kelly, #Poetry Miriam Hurdle

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Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Over the summer I will be updating author’s details in the Cafe and Bookstore and also sharing their bios, books and recent reviews with you in this series… Meet D.G. Kaye Debby Gies is a Canadian nonfiction/memoir author who writes under the pen name of D.G. Kaye. She was born, raised, and resides in…

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Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – 4th – 10th July 2021 – 1970s Music, Green Kitchen, Poetry, Short Stories, Book Reviews, Children’s Books, Health and Humour

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Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed during the week. I hope you are all well.. as in the UK, Covid cases are on the increase here as expected, although they have been quite strict about non-essential travel. That all changes later in July and thousands of Irish families are…

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Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – Meet the Authors 2021 – #Poetry Balroop Singh, #Shortstories #Crime Jane Risdon, #Thriller Gwen M. Plano

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Originally posted on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine:
Over the summer I will be updating author’s details in the Cafe and Bookstore and also sharing their bios, books and recent reviews with you in this series… Meet Balroop Singh Balroop Singh, an educator, a poet and an author always had a passion for writing. She would jot down her reflections on a…

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#Bookreview – Where Angels & Devils Tread by Joy Lennick and Jean Wilson

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Originally posted on Robbie's inspiration:
What Amazon says The joint ages of friends Joy Lennick and Jean Wilson may add up to one hundred and seventy one years, but there’s nothing “old lace” about these two women writers; while the “arsenic” connection is questionable… Both adept at delving into the messy, murky world of murder, it is enlightening, and sometimes, a relief… to discover their added light, humorous touch. This makes for a diverse selection of highly entertaining short stories to tickle the fancy of readers of a variety of genres. Jean Wilson worked as a Queen’s Nurse in the 1950s, and soon earned the affectionate nickname ‘The Angel of Aldgate’ for her cheerful, hard work among the sick of the East End of London; and Joy Lennick wore a few hats before becoming an author in 1984; adding many writing projects to her long list, including five books. My review The charm of this collection of short stories written by Joy lennick and Jean Wilson, is that all of them are driven by interesting and authentic characters in a manner reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s novels. The superstitions, petty prejudices, and pleasures of these very English characters allow for thoroughly engaging stories with plenty of tongue-in-cheek British humour when circumstances and planned actions bring calamity down on their heads. I enjoyed the plots of the various stories but it is the style of the writing that made this a…

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