Tag: canada

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Autumn catch-up and giveaway

Caroline James AuthorLeave a comment

Hello lovely subscribers!

We are motoring through November, and I cannot believe that 2024 is slipping away so quickly. I remember getting my driving licence many years ago, as a teen, and seeing that it was up for renewal in 2020. I never imagined I’d get this far! By the time this drops into your mail, I will be recovering from knee replacement surgery, so on a wing and a prayer, I am looking forward to racing around again in the new year.

NEW NOVEL

I am thundering through the final draft of The Cruise Club, which will be published in 2025. So many of you have asked for another ‘cruise’ book, to follow The Cruise, and my publisher agreed. You can expect to see this book online, in bookshops and on a supermarket shelf very soon. There is a new set of characters, taking in the Mysteries of the Mediterranean on the familiar Diamond Star ship, but comedian Dicky Delaney is back, alongside Fran and Sid Cartwright from The French Cookery School.


GIVEAWAY 

I have a lovely GIVEAWAYin this newsletter. To enter, simply comment on my Facebook page (or, for those not using Facebook, email me below) saying why you’d like to go on a cruise. A draw will occur on 15th December, in plenty of time for Christmas. The gift is a personalised box of Lily O’Briens chocolates and a signed copy of The Cruise. 

Good luck!

Caroline James Author Facebook

caroline@carolinejames5683@yahoo.co.uk

CANADA

I travelled to Canada in October to meet my beautiful new granddaughter, Mika Mei, and my lovely Willow, Mika’s sister. It was a great family holiday. Willow and I made a Halloween house and piping took forever, but she loved the result.

Ontario is beautiful in the fall. I enjoyed exploring quaint towns and gorgeous farmer’s markets, and my favourite pastime was browsing antique and vintage fairs.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is crazy in Canada, and we had two days of trick-or-treating. It is fascinating to see how much effort is put into decorating houses, and the community spirit and warm welcome that the children receive is heartening.

I found this fabulous model of a cruise ship which lit up. I would have loved to have brought it home and styled it as the Diamond Star (from The Cruise), but it weighed very heavy and would have been impossible.

TORONTO ZOO

We went to Toronto Zoo, a wonderful experience, and met Charles, a fifty-two-year-old Western lowland silver-backed gorilla. Charles was very sleepy and, unlike other gorillas around him, didn’t move around. We were terribly saddened to learn that Charles died the next day, and the initial diagnosis was heart failure. Given that the life expectancy of most Western lowland gorillas is between thirty and forty years in the wild, it is a real testament to the zoo for the care he received that this gorgeous creature had such a long and happy life. RIP, Charles – you will be sorely missed.

FREE READ

If you want a quick read, JUNGLE ROCK is currently FREE! But only for a few more hours…. Please snuggle down, put your feet up and enjoy a romp with much-loved characters Jo and Hattie as Jo’s son Zach becomes a contestant in a reality TV show down under.

99P BARGAINS

Don’t forget that THE SPA BREAK and THE FRENCH COOKERY SCHOOL are currently at a bargain price of 99p each in the UK. For later-life comedy and fun, fill your boots with reading!

TALKS

I’ve wrapped up my talks for 2024 and will start again in mid-January 2025. Thank you to everyone who comes to listen to me. I hope I inspire and entertain in some small way. It’s so good to get out and meet everyone.

RECENT RECOMMENDED READS

I’ve really enjoyed these three books. I realised I’d read the Jo Jo Moyes a good while ago but still enjoyed it immensely. Have you got any recommendations? Do drop me a line 🙂 

INTRODUCING ATTICUS…

Christmas is fast approaching, and given that my knee is recovering, we won’t be setting off with Venus and heading to the sun this winter. I shall miss my Christmas day swim in the Mediterranean and enjoying walks with Fred, the Westie, on a sunny beach, but there’s always another year.

I’ve written a book called Atticus Arnott Goes Camping, which tells the story of Atticus, a seventy-year-old who sets off to Spain in his vintage Westfalia Camper with his collie dog called Ness. I love this book and can’t wait to share Atticus’s travels with you in 2025 – watch this space!


Wherever you are in the world, I hope this finds you safe, secure, in good health and happy. As always, lovely subscribers, thank you for all your support. I love my job, and your kind words and messages keep me going when my mind is blank, and I can’t write another word. Your encouragement means so much and helps me write on. 

As Winston Churchill said, ‘When you find a job you love, you’ll never work again.’ I hope you found yours.
With my love
Caroline xx

BOOKS BY CAROLINE JAMES

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A Writer’s Quest for Inspiration – catch up with Caroline – news and a giveaway

Caroline James AuthorLeave a comment
Sunset on Lake Ontario
Hello everyone! hope that the sun is shining wherever you are in the world, and that your summer is going well. Here in Lancashire the weather is very mixed, with hot sunny days one week and cold damp days the next.

Beautiful Cornwall
I have been on my travels and, in May, set off in Venus (my office on wheels) and headed to Cornwall to research a possible novel. I haven’t been to Cornwall for ages, and it is a gorgeous county. I especially liked swimming in the sea at Bude because the sea pool there, on the beach, is filled when the tide comes in. Cream teas are a must in Cornwall and I was treated to a lovely birthday tea with scones and clotted cream.
In May, I also got an invite to the House of Lords for a luncheon to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. It was a great event, hosted by the society’s president, Baroness Floella Benjamin. 

I loved a mixed bag of genres and below are my very recent reads. Steve Cavanagh blows me away, his books are gripping, always contain lots of twists and are meticulously researched. If you like legal dramas, get a copy now. 

I listen on audio at every opportunity when doing housework, driving etc and have been enjoying Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope –  I read this years ago but it is just as good today, as are all her novels.

Shelley Read – new to me but I couldn’t put this down. It is beautifully written and reminded me a little of Where the Crawdads Sing. A stunning book, little wonder this amazing debut has been optioned as a film.

Recent Reads
Canada
I went to Canada in June and had a fantastic trip, travelling from Toronto to Prince Edward County. We stayed in a house on the lake near the town of Picton, and I took the opportunity to swim each day, despite the icy water. The county has great towns, including Bloomfield, Wellington, and Picton, and very arty and hipster places with fabulous shops and eateries. 
The countryside is green and lush, and I enjoyed visiting the breweries offering great food and family activities. Ever the ‘tatt’ hunter, I can’t resist an antique store, and there are some great finds in the many barn-like vintage stores that appear on the roadside. I am heading back to Canada in October and feel a book may be bubbling away in my head, so more research is required!
Writing
My writing has gone well this year, and after returning from Spain in January, you won’t be surprised to hear that a new romcom based on the Costas will soon (fingers crossed) be on the way. Readers keep asking me when I will write a follow-up to The Cruise, and I can say, “Watch this space…” 
Publisher Party
I was delighted to attend my publisher’s annual party at the wonderful Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It is always a great event and a good opportunity to catch up with other authors.


The French Cookery School is receiving fabulous reviews, so big thanks to you all for those. I am told that it is my best book to date. I have to say that I did fall in love with the characters when writing about their exploits in France, especially Fran, a loveable lady from Blackpool who gets far more than she bargains for when she sets off for a gourmet experience at the gorgeous La Maison du Paradis. This book is available at 99p in the UK, so grab that bargain.
THE FRENCH COOKERY SCHOOL
GIVEAWAY
This month’s giveaway is a copy of The Spa Break together with a personalised mug,  personally signed to the lucky entry that is drawn on 28th July. To enter, add a comment on my Facebook page:
 Caroline James Author
Or email me here:
caroline@carolinejamesauthor.co.uk
Just say why you’d like to receive the gift.

That’s all from me. Please keep safe, well and happy.
Spread kindness, embrace joy and have a wonderful summer.

Wishing you all many happy reading hours.
With love to you and yours.Caroline xx
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From Cumbria to the Caribbean…

Caroline James Author2 Comments

Time for an update…

Since publication in March, The Best Boomerville Hotel is booming. Thanks to all the lovely readers who have left such fabulous reviews and enjoyed my latest novel. So many people have asked if I might open such a hotel and I think if I did, it would soon be booked up! I too would fancy a frolic with the Shaman in his tepee or an hour or two with Queenie the clairvoyant in her gypsy caravan as well as enjoying the many classes such as pottery or creative writing etc. with Hattie and all the whacky residents at Boomerville.

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The Best Boomerville Hotel is available on all ereader platforms and is currently on promo on Amazon UK at only 99p. Download here: Boomerville

‘Boomerville Two’ is coming along and I hope to have the first draft finished soon. Jo and Hattie have introduced new courses such as an aqua swimming team and the Boomerville Babes, complete in matching speedos and spandex, get up to all sorts of mischief. There is a new Boomerville Hotel too as Jo sets of for Southern Ireland to set it up. Expect Irish shenanigans a plenty…

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Beautiful Kinsale in Southern Ireland – setting for ‘Boomerville Two’

I’ve had a fabulous time in the Caribbean as my son celebrated his marriage to a wonderful Canadian girl. Jamie and Ashley pulled out all the stops with a three-day wedding event and folk flew in from all over the world to celebrate with them. As they embark on married life together in their Barbadian home we wish them every possible happiness.

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Boomerville Bertie is feeling very jaded after his recent holiday and is currently lying down in a darkened room to recover. He thanks everyone who made his acquaintance during his wonderful trip and hopes to be back on the road very soon.

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I’m focussing on publicity this month and enjoyed a slot on BBC radio recently. I’m heading to Cumbria soon to record an hour-long programme on my life for BBC Radio Cumbria too. It was fun to judge a short story competition this week, which celebrated 700 years of Mayoralty in Congleton, Cheshire – the town where I was born. There were some cracking entries and it’s great to see so many getting involved to promote reading and writing.

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Short story winner Michelle Dickens and runner up Olivia Smedly with Congleton Mayor and authors John Lindley and Nick Jones

As summer approaches and the weather warms up I’m looking forward to getting out and about and hope to catch up with many of you on the way.

Happy reading and warmest wishes

Caroline xx