Paperback Books and The Festival of Romance

This week, while my lovely editor is working away on Voodoo Child (planned launch date 31^st October) I’ve been busy preparing and formatting the paperback editions of Bagpipes and Bullshot and Reaching for the Stars. This means I’ll have ‘real’ books to offer alongside my ebooks at last and I’ll be able to carry paperback copies with me when I do my personal author appearances.

 

Bagpipes and Bullshot and Reaching for the Stars will be available to order from Amazon sites very soon if you’ve been waiting to read my full length novels in paperback!

These are the paperback covers!

  

 

It’s only four weeks to the Festival of Romance in Bedford! (8^th-10^th November) I’m going to this event for the first time and I’m really looking forward to spending the whole weekend talking about books and celebrating romantic fiction.

There are some fabulous events planned – check out the website and grab your tickets now.

I’m really looking forward to meeting up with writer friends I already know really well, those I have been friends with online for ages but haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet in person, and catching up with what’s going on in the romantic fiction industry - as there will be publishers and agents and editors to chat to about such matters.

I’m speaking at the Coffee and Cake morning on Saturday 9^th November at The Lane, Bedford. I’m also looking forward to attending the Festival of Romance Ball on the Saturday night!

Are you going…?

Do let me know so we can say hello!

New season - a contemporary new look!

 

I'm rolling out a totally NEW contemporary look to all my Kindle book covers and social media pages for the new season - with paperbacks available soon!

 

Let me know what you think?

 

 

 

 

Janice xx

 

 

Books, books and ebooks!

This has been a busy week – a wonderful week – a week full of books and talking about books. On Tuesday night I was chatting via Skype on Blog Talk Radio with Inspirational Storyteller host Nancy Wait in New York. The subject was ‘inspiration’ and the special guest on the show was Linn B Halton, my lovely friend, fellow author, and the inspirational founder of Loveahappyending.com. Linn has written a fabulous blog about the programme here and there are links to the show.

 

Inspirational Storytellers on Blog Talk Radio

 

Also this week, it’s Read an Ebook Week! Check it out on the website. You may or may not know that my books are exclusive to Amazon to download and read on the Amazon Kindle Ereader. If you are an Amazon Select customer my books can be downloaded for free. If you don’t have an ereader and would like to read my books, then don’t despair, because you can download a FREE Kindle App from Amazon for your PC, Mac, Tablet, Android Phone and other mobile device. Just click here to pop over to Amazon and find out more about their range of free Apps.

Did you know that yesterday, March 7th, was World Book Day? Billed as the Biggest Book Show On Earth, the website is a fabulous resource. If you are a teacher, parent, bookseller, librarian or journalist – let’s celebrate books and help kids to read and enjoy books in all formats!

Also this week, I’d like to thank my writer buddy and fellow Romantic Novelist, Jude Roust. She surprised and delighted me by posting my debut TV appearance of three years ago to her blog 'Mad About Romance'. This short ITV news feature came about after I’d had a piece on research published in a writer’s magazine. At the time, I was researching my ‘disgruntled celebrity chef’ novel Reaching for the Stars, which caught the attention of a TV Producer. It just goes to show how one thing can lead to another! You can see the short film on Jude’s blog here.

This has also been my birthday week – so thank you for all the lovely messages on Facebook and Twitter and for your emails – I have enjoyed and appreciated every one!

 

 

Thank you to my lovely friend Jeannette for making me this birthday cake!

See you next Friday - Haste ye’ Back!

Happy New Year…!

 

 

 

It’s been a very happy Christmas at Horton HQ this year. There hasn't been any snowfall on our part of Scotland over the holidays so it's not been quite as seasonally scenic - but it has made it so much easier and safer for family and friends to visit us at the cottage for a few days. The only thing we have been without is an internet connection, but I’m happy to say that seems to have been resolved and so, as we say goodbye to 2012 and welcome in the New Year, I can now take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU for all your support in visiting my blog over the past year: for commenting and sharing, for taking part in my virtual parties and for generally being great fun friends. Thank you also for buying my ebooks and thank you to those who took the time to read and review them.

In the past few days, you may have noticed there has been an exciting flurry of Book Reviewers and Book Bloggers listing their ‘Top Reads of 2012’ and I’m thrilled to have two of my novels nominated.

‘Reaching for the Stars’ has been nominated on Dizzy C’s Little Book Blog as one of her ‘Top Reads of 2012’ and ‘How Do You Voodoo?’ is listed on Love Reading Love Books  as one of her ‘Five Star Reviewed Books of 2012’. While Bagpipes & Bullshot has remained a popular choice with readers over the holiday period by being my bestselling title. As an author, I couldn’t be more excited about such high praise, which has filled me with joy and enthusiasm to get back to my Works In Progress for 2013 ASAP!

 

 

I recapped over my blogging year in my last post here but today, the magazine style website over at loveahappyending.com, which I’m involved with both as an author and an editor, has also put together a sparkling roundup - which shows how much has been achieved over the past twelve months by this fabulous collective of authors, readers and publishers. You can click HERE to pop over and catch up with loveahappyending.com.

I’m so looking forward to seeing what 2013 has in store for us all and as we bring in the New Year, I want to wish you a very Happy Hogmanay and best wishes for the coming year!

Love, Janice xx

 



Reaching for the Stars #1

 

 

 

There is nothing quite like seeing your book at #1 in an Amazon chart!

I’m super busy right now, writing my next novel and a novella scheduled for an October release, but over the August Holiday weekend I was stopped in my tracks by Reaching for the Stars reaching number one in the Amazon.com Kindle Contemporary (free) Fiction Charts and also receiving some fabulous reviews.  Thank you to all that downloaded and took part in sharing, tweeting and blogging!

The same weekend, Amazon.com introduced Amazon India! My loveahappyending.com colleague and friend in India, Anjana Vasan, whose fabulous website Kindle and Me checked out my books for sale in India - at 88 rupees - and assures me ‘it’s good - people are going crazy for ebooks’.

All good news!

I have also been collaborating this week with my good buddy and cover designer JT Lindroos, whose work is now in such demand by publishing houses, I’m so glad I found him first. He has redesigned the cover for Reaching for the Stars (which I showed you last week) and now the cover of Bagpipes and Bullshot.  What do you think?

 

 
 

I love love love it - and I can’t wait to see what JT will come up with for my October release and Halloween themed magic romantic  novella  ‘How Do You Voodoo?’

I’m hoping to show you next week!

Love, Janice xx

Tartan-tastic!

I’m not quite ready yet with the big blog revamp but I do have a tartan-tastic new cover for my disgruntled celebrity chef novel ‘Reaching for the Stars’. Check it out!

 

FREE to download on Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th & Bank Holiday Monday!

To celebrate the new look cover and also the August Bank Holiday you can download Reaching for the Stars to your Kindle or Kindle App on your PC, Mac, iPad etc for FREE from Amazon on Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th and Bank Holiday Monday 27th August. Click the link and please feel free to spread the news far and wide!

This is what some reviewers have said about Reaching for the Stars:

“I love the way that Janice writes. You are whisked away to a part of Scotland and get so involved with the story that you feel that you are playing a star role in the book.” Kim The Bookworm

“A wonderful plot and some extremely engaging characters all bundled together in a steamy Scottish kitchen!”  Lou Graham - Book Blogger

“Even though I knew this was a complete work of fiction, I found it fun to imagine one of the top celebrity chefs losing their marbles and giving it all up. What an amazing story that would be to follow in the tabloids.” Lindsay Gentles - Turning the Pages Book Blog

“Horton's writing actually transports the reader straight to the scene - I felt like I actually knew some of the characters.” Sarah Taylor - Today I’m Reading Book Blog.

“Well done Janice Horton you have got the 5 star from me...” Rea Book Reviews

Also: 'Reaching for the Stars' was voted The Most Popular Book of the Month for January 2012 with Readers - on Jera's Jamboree Book Blog!

Get your Kindle copy FREE this weekend!

 

My other news is that The 'Gilly & Kim Let Loose' show is back on BBC Radio Cumbria on Bank Holiday Monday (Aug 27) from 12-2pm. This time it's all about romance and will feature the interview I recorded with Gilly at the Romantic Novelist's Conference last month. Gilly and Kim have been described as the French & Saunders of Radio Cumbria!  So if you get a chance - do listen in on Monday - but if you do miss it you can always 'Listen Again' for up to seven days from the web! BBC Radio Cumbria is on 95.6FM 96.1FM and 104.1FM.

 

Kim & Gilly - the French & Saunders of BBC Radio Cumbria!

 

That’s it for this week – have a great Bank Holiday everyone.

Men In Kilts…

It’s been a busy week. I’ve been writing away in my wee cottage on a Scottish hillside thinking about the characters in my next book. In particular, I’ve been thinking about our hero and how he might look in a Kilt?

Now, in my previous novel ‘Bagpipes & Bullshot’ we have the gorgeous Innes Buchanan and his equally handsome brother Fergus – looking tartantastic in their Clan Buchanan Kilts.

In ‘Reaching for the Stars’, well, I’m sure Finn would look absolutely yummy out of his chef’s whites and sporting the ‘McDuff Hunting’ tartan!

So, to help me out with my research, I’d like you to feast your eyes on this selection of Men in Kilts and let me know who gets the vote from you. For copyright reasons I'm having to post links to images and not actual photos here but please leave a comment - or  your suggestions - in the comment box, as to who you favour in the tartan. Alternatively tweet your response using the hashtag #meninkilts

Gerard Butler

  

Ewan McGregor

  

Rod Stewart

  

Sean Connery

 Matthew Maconaughey

 Prince Charles

It’s all a bit of frivolous fun of course – until you watch my favourite kilted uTube video – when research into Men in Kilts becomes an altogether much more serious matter….

Click HERE - if you dare...!

All blog-friendly comments on what you think of Men in Kilts are welcome!

The Lucky 7 Challenge..!

Thank you to my fun friends  Chris Longmuir, Carole Ann Carr and Susan Eliot Wright, who tagged me to take part in The Lucky 7 Challenge. They said the rules were simple and here they are: Go to page 77 of your current novel or WIP. Go to line 7. Copy the next 7 lines, sentences or paragraphs and post them as they’re written. Tag 7 more writers and let them know.

These 7 lines are taken from my current novel ‘Reaching for the Stars’

It wasn’t actually him, but rather a life-size cardboard cut-out. It took a while to regain her composure, but then she walked up to the image to poke her finger at it, and to wonder why a replica might be standing on the pavement looking angry and welding a very big knife.

Was he perhaps promoting a new restaurant without telling her?

Then, curiously, she noticed it advertised a website: www.mcduffhunting.com.

At the market, while buying herbs and olives for canapés, she saw a stall selling T-shirts. Amused, she bought one with the slogan The Hunt is On!

And in turn I’m tagging….

Kenneth Rosenberg

Kit Domino

LindyLouMac

Diane Fordham

Anita Chapman

Liz Harris

YOU – feel free to accept The Lucky 7 Challenge.

As usual, also feel free to leave a comment here, follow my blog, like my author Facebook page and follow me on Twitter. I'd love to hear from you!

See you next Friday…!

Love, Janice xx

Thank You..!

I want to say a big thank you to all eight thousand of you who downloaded ‘Reaching for the Stars’ last weekend in my blogiversary free promotion. It was a tremendous success in that as well as reaching lots of lovely new readers, ‘Reaching for the Stars’ went zooming up the paid charts this week on Amazon to the Number Two spot in the Top 100 Women’s Fiction chart.

Thank you also to all those who have been buying 'Reaching for the Stars' this week. You tried very hard to nudge Sophie Kinsella and her new novel off that Number One spot - but I’m afraid the lovely Sophie just wasn’t for budging!

You’ll remember that last week, I was offering heart shaped chocolates and sweeties in a draw for all those who commented, shared & tweeted about the promotion. Well, I wish I had hundreds of these yummy treats to give away this Easter, because I really appreciated each and every one of you who support me. So, as well as sending virtual hugs to you all, I’ll be posting out the box of chocolate hearts to Old Kitty and the heart shaped sweeties to Jan Brigden (Briggy44). Please email your postal addresses to janice.horton@btinternet.com and I'll send you your treats. Enjoy!

All this excitement has attracted the attention of the Dumfries & Galloway media – and yesterday I was interviewed for our local paper about my year of social networking, my blogiversary, and my ebooks. Thank you to Arts and Entertainments Editor Sara Bain of ‘The Standard’ for her support. Sara has said it would be helpful to her if readers of this article were to 'rate the story'. Thanks.

Click here to read the online article in The Dumfries & Galloway Standard

Thank you all again and a Happy Easter!

If you don’t yet have copies of my ebooks ‘Bagpipes & Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and you are looking for a bit of romance over this bank holiday weekend – look no further - and download your copies now. They both cost less than £1 – that’s less than the price of an Easter egg and there are absolutely NO calories involved!

Janice Horton’s Books on Amazon.co.uk

Janice Horton’s Books on Amazon.com

My Blogiversary Giveaway!

Wow - a whole year has gone by since I first started this blog and since I joined Twitter and Facebook and launched into the world of e-books. I have a lot to celebrate! I’ve made lots of lovely new friends. I’ve blogged here and guest blogged there. I’ve showcased lots of talented authors and I’ve received fabulous book reviews for Bagpipes & Bullshot and Reaching for the Stars - the two ebooks I’ve launched this year. I’ve chatted about all things book related and I’ve encouraged you to pop back every Friday. Thank you so much!

To celebrate properly I’ve got presents – not for me – but for YOU!

The first gift is a FREE copy of my latest ebook ‘Reaching for the Stars’, my highly rated romantic novel about a disgruntled celebrity chef, which is available to download without charge from Amazon over the next THREE DAYS.

   I’d love your support in getting the word out about this FREE promotion.

Next, the gifts are the yummy kind and, because I love you all so much for being my friends and following this blog, I’m going to award these heart shaped gifts in a prize draw. All you have to do to be in with a chance to win a yummy box of mini chocolate hearts or a bag of traditional heart shaped sweeties is to leave a comment, share the news on Facebook, or any other social networking platform about my free download, or retweet one of my @JaniceHorton tweets!

These lovely Blogger friends are all helping me to spread the word about the ‘Reaching for the Stars’ FREE download today (Friday 30th) and Saturday (31st) and Sunday (1st April): so if you have a moment to spare over this weekend please do pop over to read my guest Blogiversary posts.

Kim The Bookworm

Love Reading Love Books

Little Reader Library

Celtic Connexions

Blogging With Rich

 

Join in the fun this weekend and download ‘Reaching for the Stars’ for FREE from Amazon - and if you already have it on your Kindle - then please consider recommend it to a friend.

Download Reaching for the Stars from Amazon.co.uk

Download Reaching for the Stars from Amazon.com

A Scottish Castle Birthday...

I've had the most fabulous week and so I wanted to share it with you. You see, it was my birthday yesterday - and no, I'm not going to tell you which one - but I was spoilt rotton by my lovely friends at a dinner party last Saturday. We had lots of laughs, plenty of food, and the wine and whisky flowed freely. Sunday, as you can imagine, was a quiet day in comparison. Then, as if that wasn't enough, the lovely Mr JH whisked me away for the evening of my actual birthday - yesterday - to a Scottish Castle. It was so lovely that it could have come straight out of one of my own romance novels!

Barony Castle near Peebles in the Scottish Borders

Until we arrived at Barony Castle, I hadn't known which Scottish castle we were going to be staying at - as the lovely Mr JH had managed to keep our actual destination a secret from me. But our friends all knew, of course, and had naughtily suggested that I might just be staying over the hill from our cottage - at the ruined Morton Castle - in a tent (shudder) and for all I knew they could have been right!

The ruins of Morton Castle near Thornhill Dumfriesshire

To my relief, we set off yesterday morning with our overnight bags and headed north, and the sun was shining as we headed for Edinburgh and I presumed - quite wrongly as it turned out - The Highlands. Soon however, we were driving through a blizzard of sideways snow and then we got rain and hailstones before the sunshine returned again. They do say, if you don't like the weather in Scotland you should just wait a minute and it will change!

On the way to my suprise birthday castle, we stopped off at a fabulous restaurant in Eddleston, just outside Peebles, called The Horseshoe Inn for lunch. The setting and the food here really is outstanding - a real fine dining experience - and we got a warm welcome from owner Mr Alahakoon.

Then, on my return home today, I discovered dozens of birthday greetings on my Facebook page and a 'Sunshine Award' from my lovely friend Rosemary Gemmell who blogs over at Reading and Writing blog. I really do have lovely friends and I so appreciate all your messages.

To finish off what has been an amazing week, I was excited and delighted to received a FIVE out of FIVE STAR review from Carol at Dizzy C's Little Book Blog for my latest novel 'Reaching for the Stars'. You can read Carol's review by clicking the link below:

Dizzy C's Little Book Blog

So, it's been a great week and with birthdays like this I really don't mind getting a year older!

Until next week...

Love, Janice xx

Location, Location, Location…

Readers of my books will know that I have always chosen Scotland as a prime location for my contemporary romantic novels. Bagpipes & Bullshot has a prologue set in Texas USA but the main setting for the story is in South West Scotland. Reaching for the Stars is set in both Edinburgh and in South West Scotland.

The main reason is because I happen to live in Scotland and feel constantly inspired by the incredible romantic beauty here. So much so that the locations in my books have become major characters in their own right. Characters in a novel need to have conflict of course - as without conflict there would be no story – and in Scotland there is plenty of it. Here, the soft rolling mists, the naturally diffused light, the ancient castles and old traditions are all traded off against the recognition of an incredibly harsh alter-ego of intensely dark winters, bitingly cold northern winds, midge-infested summers and the seemingly incessant rain.

Photo: View from St. Catherine's, Loch Fyne. By Trav Horton

So, readers, please share in the comment box which of your favourite books have locations that have become major characters in the story? I could site Scott F. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Peter Mayle’s Hotel Pastis, and of course Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca as great examples.

Writers, where do you like to set your books and do you like to keep to the same location for all your books? Jilly Cooper is known for her Cotswold based 'Rutshire Chronicles' and some saga writers choose specific locations such as Liverpool or the East End of London. 

Don't forget you can follow and tweet me on Twitter @JaniceHorton

And on my Author Facebook Page you'll find links to all my latest books, news, reviews and interviews. What's not to 'like' - go on go on go on..? Thanks!

Grand Finale of the Blog Tour...!

Today I’m over at Talli Roland’s blog making you a very special Scottish Christmas cake!

Click here to go to Talli’s Blog

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy Hogmanay from here in Scotland. I’ll be back on January 6th and will be blogging every Friday. I have some fabulous authors and new books to showcase in the New Year and will be back to discussing everything of interest in the wonderful world of books.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay!

Love, Janice xx

Blog Tour - Day Eight - Love Reading Love Books!

Book Blogger and Reviewer Sue Fortin is an Associate Reader with Loveahappyending.com as well as being a Featured Author for her debut novel French Kissing in the UK. She is also part of the indie author group Famous Five Plus and a member of the Romantic Novelist Association New Writers Scheme.

Today on her blog - Love Reading Love Books - Sue reviews Reaching for the Stars, asks her bookshelf questions, and talks to me about the promotion and the launch of my new ebook Reaching for the Stars.

Love Reading Love Books

Just in case you missed any of the 'Reaching for the Stars' Blog Stops so far, I've listed and provided links to all fabulous blogs who have hosted me for news, reviews & interviews... have fun!

Lou Grahams Book Blog
Lou interviews the two main characters in Reaching for the Stars...!

Melanie Robertson King’s Celtic Connexions Blog

‘Celebrity Chefs – culinary pirates and adventurers of the chrome surfaces…!’

Jera’s Jamboree Book Blog

I’m talking to Sharon Goodwin about the extensive culinary research I did for Reaching for the Stars.

Debs Daydreams in the Plotting Shed Blog

In the plotting shed I’m talking about my life as a writer living in rural Scotland and showing you my favourite places to write.

High Heels & Book Deals Blog

On High Heels & Book Deals Blog - I’m showing off my very favourite shoes!

Sarah Taylor’s Today I'm Reading Blog

For an author interview and a review.

Reabookreviews Blog

A review of Reaching for the Stars...!

Turning the Pages

A review plus I'm talking about when I find the time to write.

Kim the Bookworm Blog

On Kim The Bookworm there is a review and we talk about the settings for my novels.

Just one more exciting blog stop to go on the Reaching for the Stars tour - so please do pop back tomorrow to find out where I am next!

Love, Janice x