Happy Publication Day to Marie and many congratulations

I am so pleased to welcome Marie Laval to my blog today as her latest novel, Bluebell’s Christmas Magic, is published.

Let’s find out about Marie:

Author Bio

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie now lives in Lancashire with her family. She works full-time as a modern languages teacher and in her spare time she loves writing romance and dreaming about romantic heroes. She writes both historical and contemporary romance and best-selling Little Pink Taxi was her debut romantic comedy novel with Choc Lit.

She belongs to Authors on the Edge and writes short stories for the best selling Miss Moonshine’s anthologies. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Authors. Her native France, as well as her passion for history and research, very much influences her writing, and all her novels have what she likes to call ‘a French twist’!

Marie is going to tell you about her latest book:

BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC

By Marie Laval

Thank you so much, Jane, for your warm welcome. I am delighted to be on your blog today to talk about my first ever Christmas romance, BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC, which is my third romantic novel to be released by Choc Lit UK.

If I told you that the inspiration for the story was a family holiday in the Lake District, Christmas cracker jokes and the 1980s band Bananarama – and in particular the song ‘Cruel Summer’ – you might think it’s all a bit strange and random… and you would be perfectly right! That’s how inspiration works, I guess, at least for me. I can sometimes pinpoint the exact moment or the place I was when I first thought about a story, but the process of creating characters and a plotline usually takes time, and a series of chance encounters with people or places, with music or artwork.   

I first had the idea for BLUEBELL when staying in a tiny cottage in Coniston, which is one of my most favourite places in the UK and one I try to visit every year. The scenery there is beautiful, the village so quaint and lovely, and the lakeside is just wonderful and peaceful. One of the places I go back every time I visit is Brantwood, which was John Ruskin’s house. The view of the lake from the terrace is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Near our holiday cottage was a very old farmhouse with strange round chimneys, which gave me the idea for Belthorn Manor where the hero Stefan Lambert comes to stay to forget all about Christmas…

I hope I managed to put across my love for the Lake District, and that my very corny Christmas cracker jokes – some of which my children and friends supplied, but others I made up myself – won’t put the readers off!

But what about Bananarama and their song ‘Cruel Summer’? Well, in my story, Cassie Bell always wears dungarees when she does her cleaning job, and she ties her hair up with a scarf, like the singers in the clip. She also used to be in a Bananarama tribute band when she was younger.

I hope that BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC will be the first of a series of standalone romantic stories set in the same Cumbrian village of Red Moss, and I am already working on the second novel.

Blurb

A gorgeous new Christmas story from the author of the bestselling novel Little Pink Taxi
A flick of a feather duster and a sprinkle of Christmas magic …
Cassie Bell is used to mess. Her cleaning business, Bluebell Cleaning, is well known in the Cumbrian village of Red Moss. However, now it’s almost Christmas and Cassie has a slightly messier situation to deal with than she’s used to.

She’s been hired to help Stefan Lambert, an injured army helicopter pilot who’s staying at the local Belthorn Manor whilst he recovers. Stefan resents Cassie’s interference and is definitely not looking for Christmas cheer. But Cassie prides herself on sparkling surfaces – so, can she bring some festive sparkle to Stefan’s life too?

You can buy BLUEBELL’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC as an ebook and audiobook here from Amazon UK

Please feel free to contact Marie on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/marielavalauthor/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/MarieLaval1).

Thanks so much for being such a fab guest today, Marie, and I hope visitors here will comment and engage with you and, of course, buy your wonderful books.

For those interested in Marie’s other books, here are the titles: