Winter Wonderland or Sunshine Paradise? Which would you
choose?
Like lots of people I love Christmas. I love the music, the
spicy aroma of mulled wine, the twinkling fairy lights on the Christmas tree
and the home-made snowflake decorations. But most of all I love the food and
like many people I have my favourite recipes that I bake every year - a
chocolate log smothered in chocolate buttercream, flaky pastry mince pies (without
the candied peel - yuk!), not to mention my Grandma’s special recipe Christmas
pudding.
Readers of my novels cannot fail to have noticed that my love
of baking has spilled over into my writing and that was no exception with
Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes - book one in my Camille Carter series. The
story follows Millie, an all-round buttercream princess, who gets caught up in
the snow and becomes stranded at a culinary school in the English Lake
District. The village is Christmas card-perfect, but Millie hates the snow and
the cold. She plots her escape and ends up locking spatulas with hunky estate
manager Fergus McKenzie when he is forced to rescue her. It’s a story of love
and friendship and of reaching for the buttercream and edible glitter when life
gets tough.
In order to fill in the time until she can catch a train back
to civilisation, Millie rustles up a batch of Christmas Cake Muffins - a
lighter alternative to the traditional Christmas cake. Of course, I had to
triple-test the recipe before the cupcakes made their debut in the story.
Delicious!
Here’s a photo. What do you think?
However, whilst I do love Christmas, I have to confess that
I’m no fan of the weather in December. I’m a summer baby (my birthday is in
July) which may be the reason why I prefer the sunshine; why I crave the golden
sandy beaches, a warm sea fringed with palm trees and if there’s a Pina Colada
going so much the better. Skiing is not something that will ever feature on my
personal bucket list either.
In Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes, Millie loathes the
freezing temperatures too. She loves her strappy tops, her Capri pants and
sparkly sandals and that’s all she has in her suitcase when she arrives at
Craiglea Manor. She is mortified when she is forced to wear a borrowed woolly
jumper and an old wax jacket, complete with the aroma of dead ferret, and which
make her look like her great-aunt Margery.
So, which would you choose?
Winter wonderland or sun-drenched shores? Let me know in the
comments below.
Blurb
When all-round buttercream princess, Millie Carter, becomes stranded at Craiglea Manor Cookery School, she believes her chance of enjoying a merry festive season is over.
The village of Aisford is Christmas-card perfect, but Millie hates it - she hates the snow, her freezing fingertips, and being forced to look like her Aunt Marjory in a mud-splattered wax jacket and wellies instead of her beloved shorts and sparkly sandals.
She plots her escape but ends up locking spatulas with the estate manager, Fergus McKenzie, who is forced to rescue her before she succumbs to a severe dose of hypothermia. Things start to improve with the arrival of handsome Sam Morgan, fresh from the beaches and rum shacks of the Caribbean.
Can Millie accept her fate? And will Aisford sprinkle some of its seasonal magic on her troubles?
Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is a festive story of love and friendship and reaching for the buttercream icing and edible glitter when life gets tough.
Buy Links:
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/
Author Bio
Lindsey Paley is a Yorkshire girl and author of contemporary romance novels with page-turning plotlines and satisfying endings. When not scribbling away in her peppermint and cream writer's retreat (shed) she loves baking cakes, enjoying a spot of afternoon tea with friends and taking long walks in the countryside. Snowflakes and Christmas Cakes is the first book in the Camille Carter series set in the beautiful Lake District and the Caribbean. The latest in the series is April Showers and Wedding Flowers and is out now.
Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
CONTEST
A huge thank you to Rachel for having me as a guest on her lovely blog. Lindseyx
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