December 9, 2011
I’m over at A Bookworm’s World, today – blogging about travel and recommending some must-see places to visit in the UK today.
Luanne also gave the book a lovely review:
“Phillipa Ashley has crafted a wonderfully entertaining escapist read in Carrie Goes Off the Map that any chick lit fan will enjoy. Everyone enjoys a happy-ever-after ending and Ashley has made the journey there is lots of fun. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the places that Matt and Carrie visit.”
Mr B is now at home and wanting me to help him decorate the house, write the cards etc I keep telling him I’m on a blog tour! Doesn’t he know who I am? 😉
Yesterday the Sourcebooks team ran a contest to win ‘a Phillipa Ashley prize pack’ on the British Book Babes page. The books look lovely, tied up with curly ribbon. Hmm. I could do with some gift wrapping help myself. I haven’t even started wrapping yet – but I have got most of the presents.
How are your preparations coming along?
Posted by Phillipa @ 8:04 am |
December 7, 2011
I’m blogging about how our research trip in the campervan affected the finished novel of Carrie Goes off The Map at Laura’s Reviews today. There are books to be won too.
Yesterday, The Coffee Crew – that’s me, Elizabeth Hanbury and Nell Dixon – had our Christmas Lunch at the Vineyard. This time last year, we were all feeling pretty down and demotivated about our writing so we decided to mentor each other during 2011.
The results have surprised even us, with new projects started, finished – and sold to publishers! We’re going to blog about motivation and mentoring on the Coffee Crew Blog later this year and give some details about some Get Writing and Get Published workshops we’re running in the New Year.
Now, back to the Christmas preparations. Nell and Liz gave me their Christmas cards yesterday – I haven’t even started mine!
Posted by Phillipa @ 4:55 am |
December 5, 2011
Last night, I was lucky enough to attend a dinner with some of the other British Sourcebooks authors at The Reform Club in Pall Mall, London. It was hosted by Dominique Raccah, the CEO of Sourcebooks, the US publisher of my LBD books including Carrie Goes off the Map.
Dominique Raccah
The Reform Club was founded in 1836 for those who pledged support for the Great Reform Act of 1832 and it was the political headquarters of the Liberal Party.
The club isn’t associated with any political party now and serves a purely social function – like holding a dinner for around a dozen very happy authors including Francesca Simon, Jane Odiwe, Helen Hollick, Elizabeth Chadwick, Amanda Grange, Ali Macnamara, Monica Fairview, Erica James, Wendy Holden, James Forrester, Gabrielle Klimm – and me!
Dinner in the Strangers Room
The club was made famous by the book, Around the World in Eighty Days. More recntly, the fencing scene between Pierce Brosnan, Toby Stephens and Madonna (from Die Another Day) was filmed here.
The day started when I got a cheap first class rail ticket to London. It wasn’t quite what I expected but it was a treat to lounge around in an almost-empty carriage eating biccies and Virgin Rail tea. Oh, the luxury…
Then I was collected from Euston and taken for more tea and crumpets at Duckface’s house and met her gorgeous little toddler, Harry. I want to thank Duckface for running me all over London, she drives like a cabbie and thought nothing of chauffering me down a heaving and very Christmassy Oxford Street to the Reform Club.
Dinner was served in the Strangers Room. We had game terrine, halibut in lobster sauce and pecan pie accompanied by champagne, wines and hand made truffles. Dominique gave a very upbeat, rallying speech about Sourcebooks – such a change to hear some good publishing news. 🙂
Here are some photos courtesy of Monica Fairview, who also has a report on her blog.
Helen, Elizabeth and James
PS Carrie Goes off the Map is featured book on the British Book Babes Facebook page – you can win one of three copies by telling us your favourite destination right now.
Posted by Phillipa @ 12:53 pm |
December 2, 2011
Told you there’s be giveaways of Carrie, didn’t I? There’s one HERE at Debbie’s Book Bag today – and Debbie has interviewed me about my writing life, what I love to read and how the book came about.
The TRS prize draw is also ongoing.
I’d like to give a big thank you to all the people who have been sending good wishes for the book launch. 🙂
Posted by Phillipa @ 10:12 am |
December 1, 2011
Last night, I was checking out Amazon to see if Carrie Goes off the Map was available (it is!) and suddenly caught my breath.
No matter what the ups and downs of a writer’s life these days I just had one of those moments when I saw my book on amazon.com and thought : “I’m actually an author and I still can’t believe it.’
So let the party start!
The blurb
Carrie Brownhill, recently dumped by her fiancé, is determined to get away from men forever. Yet she finds herself stuck in a VW camper van careening through the English countryside with the intriguing Matt Landor, MD, and he seems to be just what the doctor ordered for a broken heart…
The idea for Carrie came to me one morning when I heard Radio 2 play the old Yvonne Fair song, It Should Have Been Me. That’s the song where the jilted bride stands up in the church and objects when her ex tries to marry another woman! I wondered what sort of heartbreak could drive a woman to crash her ex’s wedding in such a dramatic way and how would she ever pick herself up from there? Then I hit on the idea of having her take a real journey… and a road trip in a tiny campervan seemed the perfect way to do it.
In the book, Carrie ends up sharing the ‘cosy’ space with the gorgeous, enigmatic and infuriating Dr Matt Landor but I asked my lovely husband to take me on a campervan journey for research – in March, in England – and he agreed. Now, that might be true love… or madness. We had a fantastic time and the research changed the course of the book. I’ll be blogging about how and why later.
There will be chances to win a copy of Carrie Goes off the Map from now until Christmas during my Off the Map blog tour. One of them is at The Romance Studio today. Click HERE to enter the prize draw and read an extract of the book.
Carrie Goes off the Map is available in US stores and on line from Amazon.com, B&N and all good online retailers. It was previously published in the UK as It Should Have Been Me.
Posted by Phillipa @ 5:42 am |
