IT'S GUEST AUTHOR SATURDAY!! Please welcome contemporary romance author Lizzie Chantree...

Hi Lizzie! It is so lovely to welcome you back to my blog - I hope you've been well? I am excited to catch up with you and find out a little more about your wonderful books - let's kick things off with my questions...

1) What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an editor/agent?

I’ve learned so much from editors and agents! My editors are brilliant at building up my confidence and helping to make my stories the best they can possibly be. I don’t have an agent, as I have my own publishing company, but I have chatted to some incredible agents at RNA events, where I have asked for their advice. I followed their tips and the books published were much stronger for doing so.

2) What is your typical day?

I don’t really have a typical day. I do have a weekly writing target of 5,000 words, but I might write most of this in one day, or over a few days. I make time for book marketing, social media, book talks, seminars, writing buddies and the occasional lunches with friends and family, as these are the times that fill up my creative tanks with energy to write. I think it’s vitally important to find a balance between work and play, wherever possible. I do work a lot of hours, but I also find time to go for a walk, sit by the sea, or have creative meetings with other writers. The key is to prioritise your writing, so that you get it done and then have time for everything else.

3) What do you read while in the midst of a project? Or don’t you?

I usually always have a new romance read or two, sitting in my book trolley, waiting to be read. I like to read as a way to de-stress after a long day. I also really enjoy non-fiction books, but they are mostly about book marketing.

4) What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?

I love looking at paperbacks, so I often keep my favourites and have them practically everywhere at home! A good book cover is a piece of art. I do also share paperbacks with friends and family if I’ve enjoyed the read and want them to see how good the story is too.

5) Are you nervous about friends reading your book?

I do get nervous of friends and family reading my books, but luckily they usually say they love them. They are my friends and family, so I’d hope that they would be kind about it anyway. Lol! I absolutely love it when readers contact me to say how much they have enjoyed my stories. I always say that giving the author a good review, for a book you have loved, is like handing them a rainbow.

6) What things inspire you to write? Location, music, film or even in a book?

I can be inspired by pretty much anything. One of my books was inspired by an elderly woman who was crying in a café. A young waitress was comforting her. When the lady who was upset went home, I asked the waitress if her friend, or family member was ok. The waitress said she’d never met her before. It inspired a two book series about the kindness of strangers. The little ice cream shop by the sea and the little cupcake shop by the sea.

7) Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us

Excerpt: The little cupcake shop by the sea.

The terrace she was currently sitting on was above her new shop and the surfboard business next door, which she also owned – well, the bricks and mortar, anyway. Jessie owned the business itself and she was now his landlord. She lived in one of the two flats above the shops and Jessie had the other – which had come as a bit of a shock, as she was actively avoiding attractive men. Especially ones as gorgeous as Jessie.

She’d put plant pots on the shared deck between the flats to try and create some sort of barrier and ward off the pheromones wafting around, but Jessie had wandered out there in his boxer shorts the previous evening. She’d jumped up after hearing someone crash and turn the air blue with swearwords outside her lounge window. He was hopping around and holding his foot, his muscled chest glistening in the moonlight. She’d tried not to stare… but she wasn’t dead!

She had kindly offered to check over his hurt foot, and she had explained that it was her property and she was trying to make sure he had his rightful space as her tenant, but that just seemed to enrage him further. Then he’d shouted at her for being stupid and putting pots where you couldn’t see them. Now she looked at the rearranged pots, which stood like sentries along the side wall, and she winced. He’d been right. He had said caustically that he had always shared the terrace with Harry, the last owner.

Fern had sighed. But then the new temper she seemed to have acquired had surfaced, and she’d told him that was about to change and he’d better get used to it. She’d had just about enough of bossy men. She hadn’t moved miles away from one, to have to deal with another on a daily basis. Jessie might be her sitting tenant, running the surf shop next door to her new café, but she owned both his flat and his shop and he could shove off somewhere else if he thought he could tell her what to do.

Fern smiled to herself and wished she’d been able to tell Brad where to go a long time ago. She could see how he’d used her now, keeping her a secret as if he was embarrassed about her, or as if she wasn’t famous enough to be seen out with. She was an entrepreneur with her own business and she didn’t need a man to validate her. She wondered fleetingly if she could buy some sort of a sign from the internet that said that, to remind herself if she ever wavered and tried to call Brad. She’d wiped him from her phone – but his number was etched on her brain, so blocking him was only symbolic. He hadn’t tried to call her, but then why would he? She was insignificant to him. Her lip wobbled so she gritted her teeth and stared out at the darkening skyline.

8) What’s next for you?

I have just published book two of my little shop by the sea series, which is the little cupcake shop by the sea. viewbook.at/LittleCupcakeShopBySea

I’m currently writing book two of a three book series. Book one is called My Perfect Ex. These stories are about a group of old school friends and the local ‘heartbreak’ brothers, Dylan, Ollie and Miles, Taylor. Everyone adores the Taylors, but no one wants their friends to date them in case they get their hearts broken. viewbook.at/MyPerfectEx

I also host writing buddy sessions with fellow author, Chris Penhall, where we encourage writers to put words onto paper in a relaxed café environment and I am planning an array of book marketing seminars for next year.

International bestselling author Lizzie Chantree, discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now works as a creative mentor. She writes books full of friendship and laughter, about women who are stronger than they realise.

Social media links:

Website: www.lizziechantree.com

Author page: https://www.viewAuthor.at/LizzieChantree

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizzie_Chantree

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LizzieChantree/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7391757.Lizzie_Chantree

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie_chantree/

FB Groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/647115202160536/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lizzie_chantree

Book links: Lizzie Chantree.

Universal book buy link: The little ice cream shop: viewbook.at/IceCreamShopByTheSea

Universal book buy link: The little cupcake shop: viewbook.at/LittleCupcakeShopBySea