As the weekend preparations begin for the big day, I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
I will be spending mine with family, eating too much, drinking too much, playing lots of games and laughing until my face hurts (if the last few years are anything to go by!).
I also hope to write some festive short stories while I’m off work and get them ready nice and early for a Christmas 2024 anthology.
I hope whatever you have planned, that you enjoy your day.
At the weekend I was lucky enough to feature on Becca’s blog – Avoiding reality of books. My interview discusses my writing journey, where I get inspiration and questions about genre amongst other things. See the full interview here.
This is a short post this morning, so don’t forget to check out Becca’s blog where she has her series 7 questions with an author, book reviews and more.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
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Happy New Year Everyone!
Let’s hope it is a less dramatic year for world events and closer to home that the cost of living crisis eases for those struggling households.
I’m hoping for a mild new year as I hate the cold weather, though I do love the look of a frosty morning and walking through freshly fallen snow as long as it melts by the next day.
I’m not really one for making new year’s resolutions, though I did briefly consider trying for a dry January. My husband wasn’t so keen on that idea, maybe next year.
I’m looking forward to making some big progress with my writing in 2023 and shared my plan in a previous post here. I hope you will join me for the ride.
Do you make new year’s resolutions? And more importantly, do you stick to them? Wat are your hopes for the new year?
Welcome 2023!
Happy Christmas Everyone!
It’s Christmas Eve. I have the smell of baking flapjacks making me hungry and flashing Christmas lights brightening the dull English day, along with some festive music playing in the background. I’m taking a quick break from the usual preparations to wish you all a wonderful day tomorrow.
I also have some important news to share – the audiobook for A Christmas Wish is now live! I got the news late last night so this is the first chance I’ve had to share it. I’m really excited to see what people think of my first audio short story collection. A big thank you to my narrator Emily Lynn for turning it around so fast and for doing such a great job.
You can find it on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. Amazon Universal Link
Plus to make the day even better I woke up this morning to a lovely review from The Strawberry Post. Here’s a snippet – ‘I devoured each one and am looking forward to reading them again. They all make for such wonderful reading at this time of year… eight wonderful heart-warming tales with such perfect endings!’
Follow this link for the full review.
You can also check out a sample here…
Writing these stories and seeing my characters preparing for their own Christmas celebrations has really made me appreciate my own family time at Christmas. I’m really looking forward to this year’s big day and hope you all are too.
Have a wonderful time whatever you are doing and see you next week with my writing and reading round ups of 2022!
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories
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I have been terrible at sharing my reviews lately, even though I’ve read some great books this year and want to rave about them!
For now I will focus on the books I want to read before the end of 2022. I have a huge TBR pile to choose from, but at the beginning of the year I wrote a list of the books I definitely want to fit in. I won’t get through them all now, so I have drawn up yet another short list.
Romance
As I’m writing romance at the moment, I find myself drawn to read it more than ever. I used to read one or two a year, but now it’s mainly what I reach for when it’s time to pick a new book.
The first book I must get to is a Netgalley request – Jo Thomas – Keeping a Christmas Promise
Claire Huston – The Only Exception (I’ve really enjoyed Claire’s other books)
Nancy Borane – New Hope for the Little Cornish Farmhouse (I love the premise of this book)
I do enjoy a Christmas themed story. Closer to the big day I have a collection of charity shop buys set during the festive period to delve into.
Urban Fantasy
I’ve actually read quite a bit of this lately rather than my usual go to epic or heroic fantasy. I’ve really enjoyed the change and have a couple of series I really want to continue. I want to make some of these a priority for 2022.
Laura Laasko – Echo Murder – Wilde Investigations bk 2 (I also own book 3, and book 4 is due for release this month). Book 1 was excellent!
Talis Jones – Fifth Sun series. I really enjoyed books 1-3 (and must post my reviews) so am looking forward to 4 and 5.
Josie Jaffery – Judgement Day – Seekers book 2 (Bk 1 May Day was brilliant).
Fantasy
Fantasy is my first love when it comes to writing and watching on TV / films and I have read some wonderful books in this genre. I’ve been so distracted by romance that I don’t even know where to begin choosing my next fantasy read.
I do want to complete the Fire Walker Series by a fellow self-published author Emma Miles – it’s brilliant and I haven’t completed all my reviews for this yet either. Raven Fire is book 4 and the final book, although there are also spin off books I’ve yet to read as well.
I do want to read Jessica Thorne’s book 2 Nightborn, but I’m loathe to start it when I know book 3 isn’t out yet. I really loved the first book and wish there were lots more to look forward to.
Non-fiction
I’ve brought a couple of Rayne Hall’s Writer’s Craft books that fit what I’m writing at the moment and want to get stuck into them to help me focus my ideas. Writing Romance and Writing Short Stories.
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That is probably too many books and I usually go off track anyway, but I’m hopeful of ticking some off the list. Have you read any of these books?
Do you have any fantasy recommendations?
Do you have your own list of books to complete reading in 2022?
I’ll be back at the weekend with reviews from the blog blitz of my new publication – Love, Loss and Life In Between.
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance
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Thanks to Jenni and Rosie for sharing this great review of my fantasy short story collection.
This is a difficult call to make. I managed to read 33 books in the end, with a late finisher stealing my heart and giving me a huge book hangover. More on that later.
First to fantasy and a book that has stuck with me – The Sword of Kaigen by M.L.Wang.
It was different to what I was expecting and different to anything I have read before. I just loved how it shocked and surprised me and at times tore my heart out. In my review I even went as far as to say that it was a masterpiece in the fantasy genre.
Runner up in my favourite fantasy books of 2021 is Mageborn by Jessica Thorne.
This was a book I picked up and knew I would love it from the start. It has everything I love in a fantasy including mystery and romance. The magic and the worldbuilding are deftly done and I’m so looking forward to reading book 2. See my review here.
My favourite romance is also difficult to pick as I’ve read so many good ones this year, both with summer and Christmas settings. I’m going to name a couple that made a big impression on me.
A last minute entry for my favourite book of the year is The Christmas Holiday by Sophie Claire. Wow, I loved the characters and their struggles and their story wouldn’t let me go. I read it in about 3 days. I haven’t indulged like that for a long time. I actually won the book in a twitter competition along with some Christmas goodies. Thanks again to Whispering Stories for introducing me to such an incredible story. I will be trying some more Sophie Claire books in 2022.
Sue Moorcroft – Christmas Wishes and Under the Italian Sun are both books that I still think about fondly. Christmas Wishes was an emotional read that won my heart and I loved the mix of mystery and passion in Under the Italian Sun.
Jo Thomas – Celebrations at the Chateau. I loved this book as it fulfilled a wish of mine to inherit a Chateau and do it up. Now I’ve lived that life and can tick it off my bucket list! Plus I loved the building relationship between Fliss and Jacques. See my review here.
I’ve discovered some amazing authors in 2021 and can’t wait to read more in 2022. Check out my post of all 33 books I read in 2021.
Have you read any of my favourite books? What have been your favourite reads?
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance
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***IMPORTANT UPDATE*** THE LOST SENTINEL IS A FINALIST IN BBNYA 2021. I’m excited to reach the final round though the next few months will be agony waiting for the results! See my earlier post about it here.
I haven’t done a writing update for a while so I thought it would be a good time to share my plans for the rest of the year. But first…
What have I been up to?
It doesn’t feel like much. I’ve written 3 fantasy short stories as lead in’s to my books. The Guardian is a prequel to Visions of Zarua, Garrick the Protector from the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and War Wounds from my new series Starlight Prophecy, which I hope to publish in 2022.
I’ve also been working on my romance series Mermaid Hotel though did put that on hold to re-work the whole structure of book 1 and 2 in the Starlight Prophecy series. It’s been so good to escape back into fantasy, but now I’m at a stage where I need to put that on hold to get back to the romance series.
The next 4 months
In September I’m doing a 6 week Curtis Brown Writing Romance course led by Jenny Colgan. I plan to work through book 1 – Evie’s Song and hopefully get it into a publishable state very soon.
In October I’ve signed up for a World Building course run by the Romantic Novelist Association. It’s an area that my readers have said works really well in my books, but I don’t want to be complacent. I’m always eager to hone my craft so I’m hoping to learn a few things that will enhance the Starlight Prophecy series.
Publishing plans…
At some point I plan to publish the short stories I’ve written in a short fantasy teaser book which will be free to my newsletter subscribers. I’m toying with the idea of writing more stories to go into it but I haven’t decided for certain yet. I’ve also wondered whether to publish a book of modern day short stories and that idea is still in the back of my mind.
I’m hoping to finish books 1 and 2 in the Starlight Prophecy and the first few books in The Mermaid Hotel ready to publish in 2022. I would love to get something out sooner but time is running against me.
The most important thing is to keep working and hopefully 2022 will be the year I get lots of books out into the world.
I hope you will be there cheering me on.
Til next time…
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance
You can follow me on
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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.
I received a copy of A Home in the Sun through Netgalley and I have to say you can’t go wrong with a Sue Moorcroft book!
Blurb
A gorgeous summer read about new beginnings from the Sunday Times bestseller.
Home is where the heart is…but what if your heart is broken?
When Judith loses her partner, she loses her life in Malta too – including the beautiful view from her sun-warmed balcony of the sparkling blue waters of Sliema Creek.
Back in England, Judith finds a spare room in her sister’s house where she grew up – but with it comes a whole host of family dramas.
Nursing a broken heart, Judith knows she must find happiness again – and rebuild her life on her own terms. Could an island in the sun be the answer she is looking for?
My mini review
I was quickly hooked by this wonderful romance and loved the characters.
A Home in the Sun was a down to earth, emotional read, but in no way depressing. I enjoyed every moment of the world Sue Moorcroft created. She is one of my go to authors if I want an absorbing story that touches the heartstrings and won’t let you go until you’ve read the last page.
A top romance author and a top romance book!
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Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance
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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.
Here’s an audiobook review of the 2nd book in my Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy. Please take a look.
My Review (4 stars out of 5)
(Audiobook)
With Calissa initiated as the Sentinel, life on Kalaya is good for Tei and the exiles. But the villainous Rathnor has other ideas and Tei faces further challenges if she and her friends are to keep the peace and hold on to the magic. Rumours of a spy in their midst doesn’t help matters and Brogan comes under scrutiny as doubts are cast on his loyalty.
Expertly narrated once again by George Ellington, this is the second book in the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and follows on from the events last time. As with the first book, the author’s descriptive skills are on top form, creating vivid landscapes which work well as a backdrop for her characters. What I liked this time around was the way we get more of an insight into each of the characters (such as the curious dynamics…
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