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Mar 16

When Life Gives You Lemons By Fiona Gibson

When Life Gives You Lemons‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ is the latest book by Fiona Gibson.

Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet. But then Viv’s husband Andy makes his mid-life crisis her problem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who – unlike Viv – doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake. Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle. Should she be mourning the end of life as she knows it, or could this be the perfect chance to put herself first?

Fiona Gibson is back with a warm-hearted story that will certainly warm the cockles of your heart during this dark and scary time.

Just when Viv is about to get her life back on track after forgiving her husband for his affair, he ups and leaves and Viv is wondering what to do next.

A single parent going through the menopause, the last thing she wants is to meet someone else even though her friends are determined that she should mingle. With a new position in work and becoming a voice for the older generation, Viv finds herself on a new path in life.

If you’re looking for the perfect distraction from all the bad news and drama in the world, I would whole heartedly recommend this story. Written with warmth, wit and cheer, this coming of age story follows the narrative of one woman as she adjusts to her new life. Packed with eccentric and interesting characters, hilarious scenarios and witty one liners, this story is an upbeat and relatable book and perfect for all lovers of romantic comedies.

You can buy ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Jan 17

My Writing Space – Fiona Gibson

Fiona GibsonToday Fiona Gibson also known as Ellen Berry shares her writing space.

Although I’m lucky to have my own room in our flat to work in, I’m not really precious about it. I love the idea of having ‘beautiful things’ around me, but when I’m full on with writing I could be anywhere really. I enjoy working in libraries, cafes and on trains, etc, as much as being at home. I work on a fairly aged laptop – if you peer closely at the keyboard you’ll see it’s been hammered so hard, almost all the letters have worn off. My family laughs at the way I bash the keys. It’s probably because my first job, on Jackie magazine back in the early 80s, involved writing all my features on a manual typewriter. You really had to hammer the hell out of it!

Fiona Gibson Writers Space

This room overlooks our street in a fairly quiet, residential area of Glasgow. It’s crammed with bookshelves and art materials. As well as writing, I love to draw and paint, and have recently been asked to do a bit of illustration work. So my desk is often cluttered with paints, inks, brushes and suchlike as well as the book in progress. I like music on low while I’m working – jazz, soul, disco, Latin or folk – it varies according to my mood.

When my children were younger and still at home, having a designated workspace felt crucial if I was ever going to get anything done. But all three – our twin sons and daughter – have all left home now and it’s just me and Jimmy, my husband, and our collie cross, Jack. The house should be immaculately tidy – but somehow, it’s not!

Fiona Gibson Writers Space

Nov 28

Snowdrops On Rosemary Lane By Ellen Berry

Snowdrops On Rosemary Lane‘Snowdrops On Rosemary Lane’ is the latest book by Ellen Berry.

Lucy fell in love with tumbledown Rosemary Cottage as a child. So thirty years on, when she loses her city job and discovers the cottage is for sale, it feels like fate. She’ll raise her children in Burley Bridge and transform the cottage into a B&B with her husband. But a year can change everything. Now Lucy is juggling two children and a B&B, but on her own. Christmas looks set to be their last on Rosemary Lane – until she meets James, a face from her past and someone who might offer a different kind of future/ Should Lucy leave the cottage behind? Or could this winter on Rosemary Lane be the start of something new?

Ellen Berry is back with a new instalment in the Rosemary Lane series. This time it takes shape in the new bed and breakfast in the village, newly opened by Lucy and her husband and their two children. Just as they’ve settled into their new lives, tragedy strikes and Lucy finds herself alone with two young children and a new bed and breakfast. As Lucy adapts to a new life, she finds an old school friend called James who’s also going through a bit of a difficult time with a temperamental father. Together the pair of them embark on a new friendship now as adults and Lucy has to decide whether she wants to continue life in Rosemary.

I’ve come to love Ellen Berry, whether she’s writing as herself which is Fiona Gibson or Ellen, her books are always heart-warming, funny and emotive stories that tug at the readers heartstrings. In her latest book, we meet Lucy a kind woman who’s looking forward to beginning a new life in Rosemary Lane with her little family, but as she’s dealt a cruel hand, we see how she recovers from it and carries on with life, through new friendships, young children as well as her creativity that makes a popular character in the small village.

An enjoyable story from the first page, ‘Snowdrops on Rosemary Lane’ is an engaging and captivating story. With relatable characters and situations, the book is sweetly written and cleverly crafted with humour and warmth to really pull the reader in and is perfect festive story to curl up with.

You can pre-order ‘Snowdrops On Rosemary Lane’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 26th December 2019.

Nov 19

Fiona Gibson Reveals New Book – When Life Gives You Lemons

When Life Gives You LemonsOne of my favourite Avon Books authors, Fiona Gibson has revealed her new book for 2020 called ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’.

What the back cover says –

Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet.

But then Viv’s husband Andy makes his mid-life crisis her problem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who – unlike Viv – doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake.

Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle. Should she be mourning the end of life as she knows it, or could this be the perfect chance to put herself first?

Soundsl like another funny and heartwarming story from Fiona!

You can pre-order ‘When Life Gives You Lemons’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 5th March 2020.

Jun 19

Being An Author – Dream VS Reality By Fiona Gibson

Fiona GibsonOn the book tour for Fiona Gibson’s new book called ‘The Mum Who’d Had Enough’, Fiona talks about the reality of being an author.

I always loved the idea of writing a book. ‘How glamorous,’ I thought, ‘living the life of an author, travelling the world and being invited to, er, things!’ I imagined trotting out novels – which would be no more taxing than stringing a few anecdotes together – and spending the rest of my time on ‘research trips’ to glamorous destinations.

I’m not saying I don’t enjoy what I do. In fact I can’t imagine making a living any other way. But the reality of the job isn’t quite how I pictured it, when I dreamed of a writer’s life way back in my childhood bedroom…

The dream: a glamorous wardrobe
Reality: I used to think that authors did lots of ‘public’ things (ie, general swanning about) and that this would require beautiful outfits. Yes, there might be the odd event to promote a new novel or take part in a book festival. However the actual writing part generally means pulling on something either very plain or downright disgusting, as you’re usually too befuddled by what feels like a monumental project to make sensible choices about what to wear. My first novel was written when I had three children under five, plus the builders in, and was covered in a fine layer of plaster dust.

The dream: fabulous parties
Reality: Disappointingly, these imagined glittering occasions don’t come as part of the job. I’m lucky in that my publisher Avon’s parent company hosts a walloping annual do – but honestly, these are rare. As far as I’m aware, 99% of a novelist’s life is spent typing away in a draughty room, forking in potato salad straight from the tub.

The Mum Who’d Had Enough

The dream: a secretary
Reality: I once imagined that, whilst the writer obviously did the writing part, there’d be someone on hand to take dictation/handle correspondence/tackle other less glamorous tasks. In fact every author I know breaks off regularly from writing to attend to laundry, check kids’ homework and bung a chicken in the oven. When one friend is stuck with a tricky aspect of her plot, she manically scrubs the bathroom floor.

The dream: limitless tranquility in which to write
Reality: Many people don’t regard writing as a proper job. They think it’s okay to drop round – ‘Not working, are you?’ – to sip tea on your sofa for five hours while you sit there, rigid with panic, feeling your deadline breathing heavily down your neck. Life is full of distractions; if it’s not the window cleaner banging on the door for money, it’s Facebook luring you to look at the holiday pictures of someone you’ve never met.

The dream: inspiration strikes
Reality: It does, occasionally. There are bursts of elation when the book seems to be literally falling out of your brain and onto the page – followed by lengthy periods of confusion when you realise that ‘Tom’ has mysteriously turned into ‘David’ and, actually, he belonged to your last book, and not the one you’re meant to be writing now.

However, after saying all that, for me the reality is better than the dream version. It is hard graft, for something like six months to a year or more – and by the time I type ‘The End’, I’m both exhausted and elated. But it’s also sort of addictive because within a week or so I am itching to type ‘Chapter One’ and start all over again.

You can buy The Mum Who’d Had Enough from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

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