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Book Review The Arctic Cruise
The Arctic Cruise Review
Not seen me for a while? Join My Newsletter …
Hello lovely subscribers! Caroline James here….
I haven’t posted here for sometime and if you would like to keep up to date with my news, please join my NEWSLETTER which updates each month with book news, competitions and giveaways. I promise not to bombard you!
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To celebrate the forthcoming publication of The Arctic Cruise, this month there is a fantastic opportunity to win a FREE 10-day cruise to see the Northern Lights – courtesy of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Harper Collins Publishers.
Yes! Someone will win this fabulous holiday and having experienced the cruise myself I can promise you it is a memorable and wonderful experience.
I’m also celebrating a wonderful trip to Egypt where I enjoyed a cruise on the Nile whilst researching for my next novel The Nile Cruise. I know you will enjoy sharing this trip with me and hearing all the news.
I had the pleasure of being shown around the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan, including the room where Agatha Christie stayed and wrote Death on the Nile. What a treat this was! More in the next couple of days in my newsletter…
There are four feel-good discounted books in the newsletter which you can add to you reading list for Christmas,
so do enjoy a bargain while you can! Have you read Atticus Arnott’s Great Adventure? Set during Christmas in Spain it is a lovely festive read. Grab a copy now before the price increases.
This will be my last post here, but it’s not goodbye. I hope you’ll continue the journey with me by joining my newsletter—I’d love to have your company each month.
I wish you every happiness this Christmas season and send my very best wishes for the year ahead. May 2026 be a truly special year for you all, and thank you for your continued support. Without readers, there would be no writers.
With my love to you all,
Caroline xx
What Makes Me A Writer
I am delighted to share this post that appears on the wonderful blog of the talented author, Morton S Gray.
In the post I discuss my journey to writing best-selling novels after being told at school that I would never be good enough…
To the teacher who told me I would never be a writer – Just look at me now!
Remember to follow your own personal dream – you have to have a dream to make a dream come true. To those aspiring writers, also remember that it is never too late to write a novel.
Happy writing and reading everyone,
With my love
Caroline xx
The French Cookery School book tour continues…
My new novel The French Cookery School is currently on an online book tour and above is an example of posts on the blogs that host the tour. The book is receiving fantastic reviews and I am so grateful to every reviewer and reader who takes the time to post their thoughts.
This from the wonderful award-winning book reviewer Anne Williams: “This was a book I totally adored…” continued…
The French Cookery School is currently on a limited time deal on Amazon: THE FRENCH COOKERY SCHOOL (FOR ONLY 99P!)
I loved researching and writing this story after being inspired by an actual cookery school week many years ago with the talented celebrity chef Valentina Harris, in the Charente region of France.
In The French Cookery School, while shopping in a market, Fran tries ‘Tourteaux Fromage’ – a type of cake with a burnt top 
Sadly, she didn’t like it.
I was inspired to write this after trying them myself in a market in Chauvigny. I have to say it is an acquired taste …
In The French Cookery School the characters enjoy many outings when away from the kitchen and I thank everyone I met in France last summer who inspired the story. France is a very beautiful country.
Happy reading everyone
With love
Caroline xx
As 2023 draws to a close…
Thank you for sharing another year with me. I hope that 2023 has been kind to you all. It was a good writing year for me with the tremendous success of my novel The Cruise, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller within weeks of publication. So many of you contact me to say that you have enjoyed the book; many say the novel has inspired you to go on a cruise or read it while cruising. It has been a joy to read your kind messages. I am delighted to say that a major cruise line has stocked The Cruise, and I will be setting sail with them in March, to the Mediterranean, to host a book club and talks. More to come…
Promotion
In the UK, The Cruise is currently being promoted for 99p. Please use the link below to take advantage of this offer.
The Cruise
New Novel
My next novel, The French Cookery School, will be published in April 2024. For many years, I was a media agent, representing celebrity chefs. I fondly remember a cookery school in France run in the summer months by the talented chef Valentina Harris. The venue was Le Manoir du Touvent – a grand old farmhouse and the childhood home of the former French President Mitterrand. Positioned on the edge of the Charente region, it inspired me to write The French Cookery School
Isn’t the cover gorgeous? Big thanks to the clever creative team at One More Chapter for Harper Collins.
Mix together a group of mature students
Add in a handsome host
Season with a celebrity chef
Bring to the boil at a luxurious cookery school in France!
Whip out an apron, grab a wooden spoon and take a culinary trip to La Maison du Paradis,
the idyllic French Cookery School!
You can pre-order The French Cookery School here:
The French Cookery School
I had a wonderful time in the summer, heading back to France to research the book. My favourite towns were Chauvigny and Montmorillon and you will find out more about these places in the book.
Author Talks
2024 brings more talks for my diary, and I look forward to getting out and about and meeting many of you. For details of my talks, please visit my website:
www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk
Family time
In October, I was fortunate to head off to Canada to spend time with family and my precious grandchild, Willow. I especially enjoyed visiting the Amish towns in Ontario and have to tell you that the Amish ladies bake the best butter pies in the world! I loved them.
Just for fun
In the book I am currently writing, there is a delightful collie dog who needs a name. Click on my Facebook page and comment with your choice and the chosen name will be credited to you in the book. Alternatively, you can email me.
Caroline James Author Facebook
caroline@carolinejamesauthor.co.uk
Working holiday
As I write, I am in Spain, enjoying a working holiday in the winter sunshine. The Costa Blanca is quiet at this time of year and so unspoilt. Together with Fred, our Westie, I am taking lots of beach walks as I plot and plan another novel.
Wherever you are, I am sending my warmest wishes and hope that 2024 brings you and your loved ones good health and happiness.
With love
Caroline xx
Following French Footsteps
Hello, lovely subscribers!
I do hope that your summer is going well.
The winner of last month’s giveaway is Diane McLean, and her goodies are on the way.
Check my Facebook page for news of the next giveaway.
Summer seems to be passing so quickly this year. After a gloriously hot June where the halcyon days seemed endless, July came in with day after day of heavy rain followed by an equally mixed August.
Leaving the weather behind, I travelled to France in July to research my new novel. Just a working title so far, but it involves friendships and food, two of my favourite topics to write about. I’ll introduce new characters, and an old favourite may also pop up on the pages. I can say that the story is based in a lovely old house surrounded by fields of sunflowers, and at this time of year, it was such a pleasure to drive through miles and miles of yellow gold. Grown for the oil, which is supposed to be healthier for the French than their rich, creamy butter.
Excellent markets are found in most towns in France, and I found my favourite in Chauvigny. The medieval town also has five castles, so I had a fascinating day mooching around. In Le Mans, visiting the cathedral was a breathtaking and spiritual experience. What a magnificent building it is. More of France in future posts.
I attended The Book Party in Blackpool and met with other others and many wonderful readers and book bloggers. It’s a great event and such fun. The next is in Birmingham in December, so if you are in the area and love anything bookish, look out for that.
In early August, we took Venus (my office on wheels) to Anglesey and almost got blown off the island. More rain for most of the week, and winds made nighttime feel like we were at sea. But it is a lovely island, and Fred had a blast, meeting new furry friends and enjoying lots of walks.
The Cruise continues to do extremely well and has received thousands of ratings on Amazon in such a short space of time. Thank you sincerely, each and every reader who takes the time to do this. It means a great deal and helps so much. Thanks, too, to all the lovely readers who contact me to say how much they’ve enjoyed the book. I am delighted to say that an audio version is currently being recorded. I can’t wait to listen to that and let you have details. I love audiobooks!
Thanks too to all the readers who send me photos of The Cruise actually on a cruise, or whilst they read on holiday. It makes me smile when I see where my novel is travelling to.
I cut the last of the sweetpeas in the garden today.
This little flower has a beautiful scent and is my favourite summer bloom.
Wherever you are and whatever your summer has brought to you, I wish you good health and happiness and look forward to catching up again soon.
With love
Caroline
xx
BOOKS BY CAROLINE JAMES
(Don’t forget that many of these books are on Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime – bargains too!)
Caroline James Author 