Jan Birley's summer holiday...plus a book giveaway

I love that when we asked today's featured author, Jan Birley, about her favorite holiday that takes place during her favorite season, the translation from US to UK meant she thought we were asking about a vacation. It reminds me of the time a girl from the UK asked me for cotton and I gave her cotton balls when she was looking for thread. What I also love is that Jan wrote her bio to be more conversational in nature. Like she's introducing herself to a friend.


Bio:
"So – all about me ………
I went to live in London when I was 17. Pretty young really, amazing that my parents let me go – after six years at a draughty boarding school in Yorkshire, my knowledge of life was hardly encyclopaedic. Mind you, whose is at 17? Initially, I trained as a radiographer but didn’t like it much and dabbled in other worlds where I couldn’t find anything I really wanted to do. Apart from sit and read a book, of course. Nanny? Nope. Not after attempting to look after two hideous children who only spoke Dutch. Cooking in a restaurant in Cornwall? Not really my thing, especially as my role seemed to consist of doing the washing up. So back to London where I spent many years in Wandsworth, getting married and having three fabulous sons, two of whom are twins. Now I live in Dorset, but am unwilling to give up totally on city life and so I still go back there to work at LSE one day a week. I’m a dyslexia support tutor. I also work at a local girls’ school and because of the lovely, long holidays I’m able to spend a good part of the year with all my boys at our holiday home in Italy. Along with our elderly dog, we relish the time we’re able to spend in la bella Umbria. My husband is the Deputy Mayor of our town here in Dorset which keeps him busy.

I’ve recently published, on line, my first novel with the second one to follow shortly. The third one is still in the process of being written. All of them are stand-alone books. Although I’ve been writing for many years, it never seemed a possible financial option as a career but belatedly I’ve realised that if I don’t pursue my dream right now, that’s all it will ever be. The result is The Lost and Found Life of Rosy Bennett."

Find Jan Birley here:

Twitter
GoodReads
Facebook
Website

Rosy loved her London life – her job in a designer shop, her gorgeous West London family house and of course her gorgeous family (although young sons are enough to test anyone at times). All that disappears when, one unremarkable morning, after one unremarkable school run, her husband collapses on a crowded tube carriage and dies.

As she struggles her way through the grief, she discovers her husband’s secret life: secrets accounts, secret deals that their solicitor knew nothing of, secret debts and what looks like a secret “very close friend” at least.

Totally unprepared and suddenly in debt, Rosy is forced to leave London to start a new life with her incredibly reluctant boys in the countryside. Can angsty urban teenagers cope with farm life, let alone enjoy it? More to the point, can their mother? It’s certainly not going to be easy but when you are at rock bottom the only way is up.

Buy the Book:

AmazonUS

AmazonUK

Favourite season: Summer
Favourite thing about this season overall: Lavender and roses, the long days with beautiful sunsets, the smell of hot earth and pine trees. The crickets chirping, my friends coming to stay and watching them unwind.

During this season...
Favourite thing to eat:
Chocolate and lobster, not together of course, although chocolate would be fine for pudding.
And Shepherd’s Pie, whatever the season.

Favourite thing to drink:
Dry Martini - but they are so strong I only ever have one. Dorothy Parker said: ‘I love a dry Martini, but one at the very most … after two I’m under the table …after three I’m under the host.’ Hah!

Favourite thing to wear:
Jim-jams.

Favourite holiday that occurs:
Going to our lovely home in Umbria, Italy for a few months.

Favourite thing to do:
Loll by our pool and read with glass of chilled white wine, (I save the martini ‘til the evening) looking out over the glorious Tuscan/Umbrian hills.

Thanks to Jan for visiting with us and Hello...Chick Lit for including us on her blog tour. 

~Introduction by Melissa Amster

Win an e-book of The Lost and Found Life of Rosy Bennett.

Open Worldwide! Ends March 26th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out all the stops on the tour:

March 21st

Judging More Than Just The Cover - www.AmberGreggBooks.com - Review/Author Q&A
T&L Book Reviews - http://tasz1976.wordpress.com - Excerpt/Promo 
Grass Monster - https://twitter.com/Lost815_Oceanic - Review

March 22nd

Literary Chanteuse - www.literarychanteuse.blogspot.ca - Promo 
Steamy Book Momma - http://steamybookmomma0.blogspot.com - Excerpt
Around the World in Books - http://www.aroundtheworldinbooks.ca/ - Promo 

March 23rd

JustaBooklovinJunkie - http://jabooklovinjunkie.blogspot.com/ - Excerpt/Promo 
SassyCatChat - https://sassycatchat.wordpress.com/ -  Review/Promo 
Book Groupies - http://bookgroupies2.blogspot.com/ - Excerpt
Hello...Chick Lit - http://hellochicklit.com -  Review

March 24th

ItaPixie's Book Corner - http://itapixie.blogspot.it/ -Review/Excerpt
Chick Lit Central - http://chicklitcentral.com - Author Q&A
The Bookworm's Book Reviews - Thebookworm88.blogspot.com - Review

March 25th

Ali - The Dragon Slayer - http://cancersuckscouk.ipage.com/ - Review/Promo 
Portobello Book Blog - portobellobookblog.com - Excerpt
Have Books, Will Read - Www.havebookswillread.wordpress.com - Review/Excerpt

Tour organized by:

HCL Book Tours/Author Services