Written by Eliza J ScottI loved it! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Firstly, I would like to thank Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to join the blog tour for A Christmas Kiss, and author Eliza J Scott for a free digital copy of her book to review.
A Christmas Kiss is on a blog tour, and I have a Guest Post to share with you, as well as my review. Why not follow the tour, and visit these blogs where you'll find reviews, extracts, interviews and guest posts from Eliza J Scott?
A Christmas Kiss is on a blog tour, and I have a Guest Post to share with you, as well as my review. Why not follow the tour, and visit these blogs where you'll find reviews, extracts, interviews and guest posts from Eliza J Scott?
The blurb:
A sparkling festive romance that will warm your heart this Christmas.
The week before Christmas, GP Zander Gillespie finds his festive plans in tatters. He's supposed to be flying out to his parents' chateau in Carcassonne with his high-maintenance girlfriend, Melissa. But she has other ideas. She wants to spend Christmas in London with her party friends - and he's not invited. The prospect of facing his family, with their questions and their sympathy - not to mention the 'I told you so-s' - just isn't an option. Instead, Zander decides to head to his holiday cottage in the quaint moorland village of Lytell Stangdale, where he intends to hide away with his faithful rescue Labrador Alf.
Eighty miles away, Livvie's world has come crashing down. With plans to cook a romantic meal for her boyfriend, she heads home early and walks in on him in a compromising position with their neighbour. Fed-up of his lies and philandering ways, this is the final straw. With her Christmas plans up in smoke, the thought of spending it with her parents and her smug, married sister with her pompous husband in tow, is enough to bring Livvie out in hives. So, when she fires up her laptop and finds the perfect little holiday cottage in Lytell Stangdale available to rent over the festive period, it seems the perfect solution. Or is it...?
Zander didn't believe in love at first sight until he set eyes on Livvie. Livvie had sworn off men until she met Zander. The pair may be reluctant to give in to temptation, but fate seems to have other ideas...
Join Livvie and Zander - and all the usual characters - for a magical Christmas in Lytell Stangdale.
The perfect cosy read to snuggle up with this Christmas
Women's Fiction
Romance
Holidays
My thoughts:
I chose to read A Christmas Kiss because I love a snow-filled, romantic Christmas story, and the blurb and cover absolutely screamed 'Christmas romance' at me!This is the fourth book in Ms Scott's Life on the Moors series, and guess who hasn't read the first three? Yes, once again I've joined the series, starting with the last book published! However, I can tell you that this didn't affect my understanding and enjoyment of this delightful story, as this book works very well as a standalone. Zander and Livvie, and Zander's wonderful dog Alf, are new characters, and the residents of Lytell Stangdale, who have been the subject of the previous books, sit comfortably in the background.
I was hooked from the first few lines. The writing style makes A Christmas Kiss easy to read, and the main characters are well-drawn and likeable. A Christmas Kiss is told in the third person, with alternating chapters, telling the story from the view point of both Zander and Livvie.
Zander and Livvie are both in destructive relationships, and, for different reasons, are escaping Christmas with their families. Livvie decides to rent a cottage for the period, which coincidentally belongs to Zander. He rents it out via a website, and having seen that a booking has just cancelled, decides to spend Christmas there by himself. What he doesn't know is that Livvie has also seen the cancellation and just booked the cottage for the same period. They arrive at the cottage independently, and are 'introduced' by the adorable Alf.
They both have issues to resolve, but with the whole village behind them - and Alf seemingly taking every opportunity to push them together - we are assured of a happy ending.
A Christmas Kiss is an absolute delight to read and made me want to find out more about the characters who live in Lytell Stangdale, so I've added the first three books to my 2019 DecTheShelves list.
Guest Post
From
~ Eliza J Scott ~
HOW I PLAN MY CHARACTERS
Hi there Deborah, many thanks for taking part in the Publication Day Blog Tour of A Christmas Kiss and for giving me a space on your wonderful blog. For this post, I thought I’d share how I develop the characters in my books.
First off, I should probably explain that I have a whole pile of notebooks, each with their own story idea, clearly labelled so if I have a lightbulb moment, I can get my hands on the relevant book and quickly scribble my thoughts down. These ideas can range from a scene, to something a character says; basically, anything relevant to that story. At this point, for each individual novel, I’ll just have the bare bones of the main characters which I’ll need to flesh out later – a process I really enjoy as it almost feels like getting to know new friends.
When the time comes for me to start working on that new story and developing its characters, I sit down at my laptop and allocate each character their own page in readiness for building their CV. I usually start with their hair and eye colour, then I can visualise what type of nose and chin they’ll have; how their features all fit together and how they wear their hair. With Livvie in A Christmas Kiss, the image that immediately sprang into my mind was a curvaceous bohemian redhead with hazel eyes and a smiley face. As I built up her physical appearance, I could then visualise the bright, colourful clothes she’d wear, her bold jewellery, her mannerisms, and even her walk. I knew instinctively that she’d be quite bubbly and warm; someone who you could have a good old chinwag with over a cup of tea – a real woman’s woman. By this point, a name has usually popped into my head; I have no idea where it comes from, it just appears in my mind whenever I think about that character! Once that happens, the name’s stuck and there’s no way I can think of them with a different one.
I also include other details such as date of birth, star sign and height, basically, anything else that could be relevant. And, for me, it’s very important that I like my female protagonists, and could be friends with them in real life, otherwise I’d find it difficult to tell their story. Once I get the female protagonist established in my mind, I then move onto her male counterpart and follow the same process. When I’ve reached this point, I can start to imagine conversations between the pair, which gives me an idea of their voices, their accents and details like what their laughter sounds like. This is when their individual personalities become more apparent and makes it easier for me to see how they’ll interact with one another. I find this stage exciting and energising; it’s like the prospect of getting to know a new group of people.
With Zander in A Christmas Kiss, he’s very attractive and comfortable in his own skin. Consequently, he hasn’t had much trouble getting girlfriends but he can, at times, be a little shallow. He’s got a bit of a track record of going for looks over substance, and as for having a connection with someone, he doesn’t even consider that! Which is the very reason why his feelings for Livvie – who isn’t his usual type – knock him for six, leaving him not really knowing what to do with them! He’s drawn to her in an inexplicably powerful way which is something he’s never experienced before.
I’m currently getting better acquainted with the characters in my next novel (working title: Tell It To My Heart) and can now see the female protagonist very clearly in my mind, even down to the little freckle she has on her top lip and the bag she always carries. She’s a scatterbrain like me, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get into writing her role!
So there you have it, my way of fleshing out my characters. I hope you enjoyed getting to know my process!
Eliza xxx
| Author Bio – Eliza J Scott |
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 Eliza lives in a 17th-century cottage on the edge of a village in the North Yorkshire Moors with her husband, their two daughters and two mischievous black Labradors. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden. Eliza also enjoys bracing walks in the countryside, rounded off by a visit to a teashop where she can indulge in another two of her favourite things: tea and cake. Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heart-warming stories with happy endings. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Blog | http://www.elizajscott.com/ |
| https://www.instagram.com/elizajscott/ | |
| Goodreads | http://www.goodreads.com/ElizaJScott |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/elizajscottauthor |
| X | https://twitter.com/ElizaJScott1 |
| Bookbub | http://www.bookbub.com/authors/eliza-j-scott |
| UK Amazon Author Page: | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eliza-J-Scott/e/B07DMQWPMH |
| US Amazon Author Page: | http://www.amazon.com/Eliza-J-Scott/e/B07DMQWPMH |
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