Today I'm hosting the Blog Tour for Only You, a fabulous contemporary romance by Lorna Peel. So, without further ado, here's Lorna...
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My Favourite Books and Authors
When I was
little I read everything Enid Blyton wrote – The Famous Five, The Secret Seven,
Malory Towers, St Clair’s – the lot! Then I moved on to anything with horses in
it, Nancy Drew, and the Sweet Valley High series. When hormones kicked in, I
went through a pop music magazine phase – Smash Hits and Number One – both
sadly long gone. After that I moved on to adult books but whenever I think of
my childhood books, I think of Enid Blyton.
These days,
my favourite author is Sharon Kay Penman. I bought her Wars of the Roses epic,
The Sunne in Splendour, when I was on a school trip to Northern Ireland. The
sheer length of it (886 pages) intimidated me for a couple of years but when I
did finally read it, I loved it.
I also love
her Welsh trilogy (Here Be Dragons; Falls The Shadow; The Reckoning) about the
last years of independent Wales, not just because of the brilliant writing but
because I was brought up in north Wales and I have either been to, or know of
most of the locations in the books. I can read them over and over again.
Another of
my favourite authors is Phil Rickman, who writes the Merrily Watkins mystery
series. Merrily is a single mum, a priest in the Church of England - but is
also a Diocesan Exorcist, so there is often a paranormal twist to the
mysteries. Every book in the series is a great and unique read!
Honourable
mentions go to Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea - a novel about the
Irish Famine; the late Diana Norman, author of Daughter of Lir - a brilliant
novel about Ireland just before the Norman Conquest; and Jude the Obscure by
Thomas Hardy, probably the saddest book I’ve read yet.
Excerpt:
A week later, she brought five history books into her
bedroom, closed the door with a foot, and set them down on the bed. “Okay,” she
announced. Robert sat up and placed a pillow behind his back. “Irish history
lesson number one.”
“Am I
going to get homework?” he asked, switching on the bedside light.
“Depends
how good you are.” She climbed onto the bed and settled back against him. He
kissed the back of her neck. “And whether you can concentrate!”
“Oops!
Sorry, teacher. I promise that I’ll be as good as gold.”
And
he was, listening intently as she explained the events leading up to the Irish
Potato Famine of the 1840s.
“Ireland’s
population was eight million at the time. It’s not been anywhere like that
since.”
“What
is it now?” he asked.
“Somewhere
around four and a half. The Republic of Ireland, that is.”
“Tell
me about the landlords.”
“Well,
all of Ireland’s land was owned by a few thousand landlords, mostly Protestant
and mostly descended from English settlers. Some took an active interest in
their estate, but others had little or no interest and left the day-to-day
running to agents.”
“Why?”
He leaned to one side and began to flip through a book until he came to a map
of Ireland. “Where did they live?”
“Some lived in Dublin or England, and
were known as absentee landlords. Quite a few landlords went bankrupt. Despite
being the landlord of a large estate, Rowley’s financial problems weren’t an
exception. They had lowered rents and distributed clothes and food to their
tenants. Many didn’t and even put up rents and evicted tenants who couldn’t
pay.”
Jane
felt Robert tense. “Were there any reprisals?”
“Yes. Seven landlords were shot, six
fatally, during the autumn and winter of 1847. So, Rowley being shot dead
wasn’t an exception there either, but he had been forced to evict his tenants
because he was completely broke and his creditors were calling in their loans.”
“I’ve
got my work cut out for me, haven’t I?”
She
twisted around and gave him a smile. “I’ll help you.”
“Don’t
regret saying that.”
“I won’t.”
Blurb:
Jane
Hollinger is the wrong side of thirty, divorced and struggling to pay the
mortgage her cheating ex left her with. As a qualified genealogist, teaching
family history evening classes is a way for her to make ends meet. But she
begins to wonder if it’s such a good idea when a late enroller for the class is
a little... odd. “Badly-blond Bloke” both scares and intrigues Jane, and when
she discovers he is her all-time favourite actor and huge crush, Robert
Armstrong, she’s stunned. Even more stunning to Jane is the fact that Robert is
interested in her romantically. He’s everything she ever dreamed of, and more,
but can she overcome her fear of living in the public eye to be with the man
she loves?
About me:
Lorna Peel
is an author of contemporary and historical romantic fiction. She has had work
published in three Irish magazines – historical articles on The Stone of Scone
in ‘Ireland’s Own’, on The Irish Potato Famine in the ‘Leitrim Guardian’, and
Lucy’s Lesson, a contemporary short story in ‘Woman’s Way’. Lorna was born in
England and lived in North Wales until her family moved to Ireland to become
farmers, which is a book in itself! She lives in rural Ireland, where she
write, researches her family history, and grows fruit and vegetables. She also keeps
chickens (and a Guinea Hen who now thinks she’s a chicken!).
Thank you
for featuring me on your blog, Gale!
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