1.) What is the strangest talent you have? I can rattle off every monarch since William 1 and turn a shepherd’s pie into atlantis pie
2.)
What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever
worn? We as a family don’t do anything for Halloween. We are so conservative I’m afraid.
3.)
Are the titles of your books important? Yes. I
try and choose something a little different and a tad quirky. If my title can make a prospective reader
stop and want to know more…then that’s a bonus.
4.)
If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult
character, what methods help you through it?
Save the work, close the laptop and find a really mundane chore or
crochet until the solution comes to me.
5.)
Do you prefer dog, cats or none of the above?
I’m a cat person. I have two cats, Merlin and Arthur. However when the kids are a lot older I would
like to get a dog either a cavalier King Charles or a rough collie.
6.)
Who’s your favourite author? Why? I have loads. My taste in reading varies from
biographies, historical fact and fiction, to Amish romance, regency romance and
the contemporary. So I really do not
have an ultimate favourite author. If I
find a book I really enjoy, I tend to be a tad ocd and collect all their books
if I can afford it. Authors are individual and I enjoy their varying ‘voices’
if you see what I mean. I hope so.
7.)
Do you have a pet peeve? Disloyalty in
friends. I would give the shirt off my
back to help a friend if they needed it.
8.)
Do you remember your dreams when you wake up in
the morning? I try to if its been one with a rather dishy man in it.
Blurb
Widowed
Englishwoman Pann Haggerty has a list. A bucket list, if you will. A list
gathered from dreams, romantic movies, and kitschy television programs. A list
that has spent far too long buried beneath piles of dirty dishes, laundry
baskets, and the needs of her grown children. Pann finally realizes it’s her
time to follow her dreams. Armed with her list and an unparralled sense of
adventure, Pann leaves England for America. While there she meets New Yorker
Joel Harper and together they rent an RV with the intentions of following
Pann’s list. And, while love isn’t on the list, the close quarters of the RV
certainly make for some interesting conversation. Before long both Pann and Joe
realize they’ve discovered more than just America, they’ve found each other.
Tagline
#
because the greatest adventure of all is falling in love
Extract:
“Joe, would
you mind getting me a couple of things please?” she asked him sweetly.
“Sure. What
do you want?” he asked.
“Mug, key
ring, magnet. Anything really.”
“Pann, what
on earth are you up to?” Joe was suspicious.
“Nothing
honestly. I’ll be waiting here when you get back. I’ll just go inside and have
a look around,” Pann told him, packing as much innocence as she could muster
into her voice.
“I’ll go
then,” Joe said. Pann smiled and nodded. “I’m going,” he repeated, looking
around for a shop that sold what she wanted. Pointing to a store on the other
side of the road, he crossed over and left Pann alone.
“Toodles,”
Pann replied cheerfully and put her idea into action.
***
When Joe
came back to the meeting house less than half an hour later, he was laden down
with bags. He was hoping he got the right things for her when the sight before
him stopped him dead. He lifted his face to the sky and whispered, “Oh, jeez,
not this. Not here. Not now.”
For standing
on the steps was Pann wearing a Union Jack cap on her head and a frilly apron
around her. She was handing out slices of cake and plastic cups of tea to anyone
that would take it. A broad smile lit up her pixie like face and she was
obviously having a fantastic time, laughing and chatting to tourists and
residents alike.
“What do you
think you are doing, Crazy Lady?” Joe said slowly.
“Well, duh,”
Pann mocked him. “What does it look like? I’m having a tea party. Where better
to have one than here?” she announced taking a bow. Cutting a piece of sunken,
lopsided cake, Pann put it on a napkin and handed it to Joe.
“I knew you
were up to something,” Joe muttered, taking a bite of the cake. It tasted much
better than it looked.
“You can’t
have a tea party without cake,” Pann said stubbornly.
Joe took a
deep breath. “Wrong revolution, darlin’. That was the French one,” he informed
her.
“And the tea
party?” asked Pann, totally confused by all the history being thrown at her.
“To do with
taxing of tea. Crates of it were thrown overboard and into the river.”
“That’s
terrible. What an absolute waste of perfectly good tea.” Pann sniffed in
disgust. She sat down with her own cup and munched on her cake.
Joe couldn’t
resist taking a photograph of her.
“Say Tea
Party!” he teased. Pann stuck her tongue out at him. Joe continued taking
photographs anyway. She pulled up her jeans at one point, exposing red socks.
“Pann what
are you wearing?”
“Red socks.
You said Boston was the home of the Red Socks. So I am wearing them because I’m
in Boston.”
“Pann, you
crazy English lady. When I said Boston was home to the red socks, I meant the
Red Sox. A baseball team,” Joe said slowly and carefully so she would
understand.
“Baseball,”
Pann thought for a moment. “Is that like rounders?”
“You have to
be kidding me! You’ve never heard of baseball?” Joe’s voice was incredulous.
“Of course I
have. You hit a ball with a round stick. Then run around the field and touch
bases. That’s rounders.” The tone of her voice dared him to argue the toss.
“What about
football?” Joe decided to open the can all the way.
“Rugby,”
Pann countered.
“Soccer?”
“Football.”
Pann was evidently enjoying her banter with him.
He sat down
on the steps and put his head in his hands.
“Save me
from the crazy English woman,” he pleaded to no one in particular.
“Sorry, pal.
You’re on your own,” a passer-by retorted.
Pann sat
down beside him and snuggled up and sighed happily
“That was
fun,” she giggled girlishly whilst sipping yet another cup of tea. God, didn’t that woman ever get fed up with
the stuff? Joe wondered.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Amanda is
originally from Bexleyheath, Kent in England. Born in 1971 she lives in
Bedfordshire with her husband Matt, three children and two rather mad moggies.
A proud member of the Romance Novelist's Association, she is an author writing romance novels featuring the hero and heroine in their forties and fifties and more often with a quirky twist added to the tale.
A fountain of useless knowledge about the Royal Families of Europe and history in General, Amanda's bookshelves are packed to the brim with romances, historical biographies and Amish/inspirational fiction much to the despair of her husband.
As a self-confessed fan of Doris Day, Amanda can often be found in the quietness of an afternoon on the sofa watching one of her many dvds with a pot of tea and digestive biscuits.
Amanda also has more than a slight fondness for The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls, The Waltons and The Marvel Universe, as well as a huge fan of Dr Who!
A proud member of the Romance Novelist's Association, she is an author writing romance novels featuring the hero and heroine in their forties and fifties and more often with a quirky twist added to the tale.
A fountain of useless knowledge about the Royal Families of Europe and history in General, Amanda's bookshelves are packed to the brim with romances, historical biographies and Amish/inspirational fiction much to the despair of her husband.
As a self-confessed fan of Doris Day, Amanda can often be found in the quietness of an afternoon on the sofa watching one of her many dvds with a pot of tea and digestive biscuits.
Amanda also has more than a slight fondness for The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls, The Waltons and The Marvel Universe, as well as a huge fan of Dr Who!
Links:
Social media
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amanda-Ward/e/B008LTIKVI/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
Bless your heart Rachel. Thank you for hosting me xxxxxxxxxxxx
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