Blog Tour Guest Post: Happily Ever after at the Dog and Duck by Jill Steeples

Happily Ever After at the Dog & Duck by Jill Steeples

Published: 2nd October 2018

Publisher: Aria

Pages: 358

Available on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Blurb

Life in Little Leyton is never quiet, and when handsome developer Max and his bride-to-be Ellie, receive some sad news, he decides to whisk her away for a romantic break. The time away gives Ellie a new perspective, and she’s eager to get home to get on with planning their wedding.

But a devastating incident at the pub she runs, The Dog & Duck, puts everything in jeopardy.  And, at their home Braithwaite Manor, tensions are heightened when Ellie’s future mother-in-law turns up with all her worldly belongings, much to Max’s sister Katy’s despair.  

With Max preoccupied with problems at work, Ellie’s left literally holding the baby, while dealing with a seemingly endless list of dramas. And as Christmas approaches, Ellie begins to wonder if she’ll ever get her happily ever after…

Jill Steeples’ heart-warming Dog & Duck series is the perfect escapist read for all fans of romance, laughter and unforgettable stories.

Guest Post by Jill Steeples

The publication of a new book is always cause for celebration.  After all that hard work it’s so thrilling to finally send your baby out into the big wide world and to know that people will be reading it, and hopefully enjoying it too! In the case of my latest novel, Happily Ever After at The Dog & Duck, there’s double cause for celebration as it’s the fourth and final Dog and Duck book bringing the series to a close.

I must admit to having mixed feelings about this.  Obviously there’s a sense of relief, satisfaction and excitement that I’ve actually made it to this point - there were moments when I wondered if I ever would! - but it’s tinged with sadness too knowing that I’m saying goodbye to characters who I’ve come to love and who have played such a major part in my life these last couple of years.

Funnily enough, I didn’t set out to write a series.  When I wrote the first book about Ellie Browne who loses her job and flat in London, and returns home to the village where she grew up, in search of some thinking time, I’d intended for it to be a stand-alone novel. Without a contract in place at the time or a pressing deadline to meet, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of writing the novel, set in an idyllic English country village and centring around the local pub. When it was finished it I sent it off to a new digital imprint that was just setting up, Aria Fiction, a division of Head of Zeus and within a matter of a few weeks I’d heard from them saying how they loved the book, and would like to publish it.  I was thrilled and quickly accepted their offer and that’s when the idea of turning it into a series and writing three more books was mooted by my editor!

I was daunted by the prospect.  I’d just written one book and now they wanted me to write three more, but once I’d chatted it through with my editor and we’d come up with some ideas on how to develop the series, it seemed that I might just be able to pull it off after all.

The good thing about writing a series is that you already have a core set of characters that you know and love so well.  In my case I also had the fictional village of Little Leyton and The Dog and Duck pub, so I had plenty of scope to develop the storylines, and I loved immersing myself in the fictional world I’d created.

Of course there are challenges to writing a series too.  Not everyone who picks up your book will have read the others in the series so you have to ensure that the story can stand on its own, offering enough backstory to make it easy for new readers to follow, but not too much that you alienate existing readers.  There is also a level of expectation from readers who are following the series. One of the loveliest things I’ve experienced in this process has been people getting in touch  saying how much they’ve enjoyed the stories and asking when the next story will be out. Those sort of comments make it all worthwhile and has made my first experience of writing a series a very positive one. Would I write another one? Possibly. Never say never is definitely my motto now after being pushed to do something that I would never have considered in the first place had it not been for my publisher.  In the meantime I really hope readers, both old and new alike, enjoy this latest book in The Dog and Duck series.

About the Author

Jill lives with her husband, two children and an English Pointer named Amber in the Bedfordshire countryside. Her short stories have appeared in women’s magazines around the world aswell as in charity anthologies. When she’s not writing, Jill loves spending time with family and friends, reading, films, musical theatre, walking, baking and eating cakes, and drinking wine.

Follow Jill

Twitter handle: @jillesteeples

Any blogs/website: www.jillsteeples.co.uk

Buy links

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2Ljw2mr
iBooks: https://apple.co/2PBoVZU

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2wmWMwy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Mw4PSM

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

Blog Tour Extract: Wedding Bells at the Dog and Duck by Jill Steeples

Wedding Bells at the Dog & Duck by Jill Steeples

Published: 1st March 2018

Publisher: Aria

Pages: 242

Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Order now from Amazon

Today for my stop on the Wedding Bells at the Dog & Duck by Jill Steeples I have a short extract to share with you all, hope you enjoy. 

Blurb

Ellie Browne, landlady of The Dog & Duck, is looking forward to a relaxing Christmas Day before the arrival of her and her partner Max's baby in the New Year. But with a snowstorm brewing outside, it seems that things might not go quite to plan. After the dramatic events of the holiday season, Ellie settles into her new life at Max's huge country mansion Braithwaite Manor, juggling work and family as best she can. When she's asked to help organise a summer wedding for one of her best friends it's only natural that her mind turns to her own, non-existent, wedding plans! But with Max decidedly lukewarm on the subject and other family complications threatening to disrupt life further, Ellie fears there'll never be wedding bells at the Dog & Duck after all.

Extract

I sighed, closing my eyes for the briefest moment, the events of the last couple of years flashing through my mind in vivid technicolour. I had no reason to worry. The pub was in safe hands – Dan knew as much as I did about running a good pub and he and Silke would do a great job in my absence. While I would miss being here on a daily basis, I had other more important priorities now.

Max, our baby, Katy and Digby.

We were a little family unit and I needed to take time out of my busy working life to just enjoy this new chapter. The pub would still be here waiting for me when I was ready to return to work.

‘I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this,’ said Arthur, an old family friend and one of the pub’s most long-standing customers, as he eased himself out of the cosy armchair next to the fireplace. He collected his walking stick, which had been resting against the inglenook fireplace and straightened himself, every movement made in slow motion. A smile appeared at his lips.

‘My Marge would always put on a lovely spread at Christmas. The dinners we had! Mmmm. She’d do all the cooking herself, you know? She made a lovely bread sauce, and Yorkshire puddings the size of billowing clouds. We’d have everyone round, there’d be twelve or fourteen of us sometimes. A bit like today.’ He nodded at the train of people heading in the direction of the barn. ‘Such happy times. That was why I was so pleased when you invited me along. Brings back lovely memories,’ he said wistfully.

‘Aw, and I have lovely memories of you and Marge at Christmastime too. Every year you would pop round to the cottage on Christmas Eve for a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie, to drop off my present. It was the same gift every year – I would have been horrified if it wasn’t – an annual and a selection box, and I can remember that feeling of excitement as I put the present beneath the tree. Christmas Day, after all the excitement had died down, I would curl up on the sofa and read my annual and work my way through all the chocolates in the box.’ I laughed, thinking how I wouldn’t have minded doing the same thing right now. ‘We’re very happy to have you here with us today, Arthur,’ I said, reaching out to take hold of his free hand, knobbly with veins, and squeezing it tight.

Josie, my best friend from way back when, and her husband, Ethan, brought up the rear, with baby Stella, my gorgeous little goddaughter, held in the arms of Eric, Josie’s dad. Everyone who was important to me was here today, apart from my parents who were on standby to fly over from Dubai just as soon as my baby deigned to put in an appearance.

Just then, as we were making our way out to the barn, there was a loud and insistent banging on the door. Max had locked it earlier knowing we wouldn’t be open to the general public today.

‘Who on earth is that?’ said Josie, almost indignantly.

‘Someone wanting their Christmas Day pint, no doubt,’ said Ethan.

‘Tell them there’s no room at the inn.’ Eric chuckled to himself.

I waddled over and called through the door, ‘Sorry, we’re not open.’

Another bang came then, louder and more urgent this time. Maybe it was a friend or villager come to pass on their good wishes for the season. Sharing a curious look with Eric, I went to unlock the door, but he stepped in, coming over from behind me to reach up to unbolt the heavy lock. He pulled open the old oak door and a biting blast of cold air whipped through the entrance, snow flurries obscuring the view of our visitor, creating a snow globe effect.

‘Crikey, that weather is insane.’ Josie shivered. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’

The man standing on the threshold took a step forward, coming into focus. Tall, brown hair, forty-ish, with snowflakes peppering his head and shoulders.

‘Sorry to interrupt, but I saw the light on. I just wondered if you had a room available. My car is well and truly stuck in the back lane into the village.’

‘But it’s Christmas Day,’ I said, rather unnecessarily, just in case the stranger had overlooked this vital fact. ‘Where are you heading?’

‘Just driving through, but in these conditions I won’t be going anywhere. My car won’t budge. And the way it’s looking, nothing will be getting in or out of the village. Not for the next twenty-four hours at least.’

‘Ellie!’ Max called from the back door. ‘Are you coming?’

‘Oh sorry,’ said the man. ‘I can see you’re busy. I’ll leave you to it. Do you know of any bed and breakfasts in the village that might have room tonight?’

‘Look, come in for a moment,’ I said, eager to get the door shut before we all perished from the cold.

Book Review - Hopelessly Devoted to You by Jill Steeples

Publisher: Carina UK

Published: August 14th 2014

Pages: 304

Available on Kindle

Order from amazon here.

 

Blurb

Meet Ruby’s fiancé, Finn. He’s gorgeous, thoughtful, successful and adoring – pretty much anyone could ever want in a man. In fact, he’s perfect. The catch? He’s just not perfect for her. But when Ruby finally plucks up the courage to come clean, Finn’s so furious that he misses his footing as he runs down the stairs – and suddenly, it’s not just his heart that’s broken!

When Finn wakes up, he can’t remember a thing. Not that Ruby dumped him – not even that they were ever engaged! It’s on the tip of Ruby’s tongue to come clean, but somehow, it never seems to be the right time... And as the weeks pass, she sees a new side to Finn. Arrogant and a shameless flirt, he’s irresistibly bad, and the chemistry between them is explosive!

It’s not that Ruby’s lying… she’s just withholding the truth. And seeing as things are going so well, perhaps there’s no need for Finn to have his memory jogged… The trouble is, there’s every chance that Finn might remember for himself!

 

Review

Firstly I would like to thank Carina UK for allowing me to read this via NetGalley.

 

To be totally honest I knew nothing about this book or its author before I requested it, I just saw that beautiful cover and was instantly drawn to it. I'm so glad I read it because I devoured it in one sitting, which doesn't happen often. The story really drew me in and I just couldn't put it down.

 

At first I didn't warm to the character of Ruby, she has this perfect boyfriend in Finn who is sexy, polite, considerate and even brings her flowers when its not her birthday but Ruby  feels she can't marry him because she doesn't love him. The first couple of chapters are just about Ruby trying to work out how to get rid of Finn and I just found Ruby to by whiny and annoying at this point, luckily after Finn has his accident  she changes and becomes a lovely caring person who I would actually like to be friends with.

 

I loved that this book had a couple of unexpected twists so wasn't as predictable as I thought it might be, this made for a story which I wanted to keep reading as I wanted to know if things would happen in the way I expected or not. Jill's style of writing flows really well and with a few unexpected plot twists and characters which became really quite loveable it makes reading this book a joy.

 

I will definitely be reading more of her work as her writing suits me perfectly when I just want a heart warming tale to curl up with. If you enjoy Milly Johnson or Katie Fforde then I'm sure you will enjoy this book. I give this book 5/5