Festive Guest Post: Xmas Q&A with . . .Author Karen Swan

Q) When do you normally get in the Festive spirit?
Usually mid-December when my children have their nativity plays and carol concerts, although I’m a little ahead of festive schedule this year as I went to the Spirit of Christmas fair at Olympia and bought loads of gorgeous Christmas decorations for my house (we’re just coming through six months of building works) and I’m chomping at the bit for the first of December to arrive so I can put them up.

Q) What is a family tradition you like to have/do Christmas eve?

Oooh I have several! One is that we always go to a Smelly Donkey candle-lit carol service where the youngest baby in the parish is dressed as Baby Jesus and the local children dress as angels and shepherds and kings. Best of all is that a real donkey is brought into the church; Usually it’s remarkably placcid but the year before last, it upstaged everyone by having a bit of a temper tantrum which was highly amusing.

I also spend the week before Christmas baking a gingerbread house for each of my children (which does drive me to the brink of insanity) and when we get back in from the Smelly Donkey, I throw a lasagne in the Aga; Whilst it’s cooking, the children decorate the gingerbread houses with sweets, I stuff the turkey and we sing 1940s and 50s Christmas songs very loudly. My favourite song is called ‘Let It Snow’, which is particularly apt for my book this year.

And the very last thing my children do before going to bed - after putting out a plate of snacks for Father Christmas and the reindeer - is they climb into their stockings for a photograph. I made their stockings for each of their first Christmases and they were so huge when they were babies. Now, my eldest - who is 12 - can only get one leg in it. It’s become a sort of marker for how much they’ve grown in that year.

Q) Favourite Christmas Book?

If it’s not too immodest to say one of my own books, I’d have to nominate Christmas At Claridges. The tree scenes, the ball at her feet… I was so there in that moment. It gives me goose bumps every time I read it.

Q) How do you feel when your writing your Christmas books in Summer?

Actually, one of the very few advantages of writing two books a year is that my timetable has shifted so I’m now writing my Christmas book over the winter and my summer book in the summer, doing the edits for each in spring and autumn respectively. If I’m a bit stuck, it’s so much easier looking out of the window and having the corresponding season looking back at me. Having said that, when I’m actually fully in the flow of writing, I don’t see what’s in front of me anyway as the story runs like a film through my mind and overwrites reality. I also make a point of only writing about places I know personally, so even if I was writing the book in the Maldives (I wish!) I would still be able to conjure Zermatt and the snowy Matterhorn, no problem.

Q) Do you love buying/wrapping gifts and seeing everybodys face's on Christmas Day?

Oh yes! Completely. It’s absolutely the best part as far as I’m concerned. All I ever really want myself each Christmas is a new pair of cashmere socks. Beyond that, I’m all about the giving. it’s such a thrill to know you’ve got it right. I’m famous in our family for ‘having to see your face’ when a present is opened. It’s not about the gift per se, it’s the happiness you bring in that moment.

Q) What it is like on Christmas Day for you & your family?

Well, thankfully it’s a little shorter than it used to be! We used to have to tell the children not to come in to us before six am, now it’s a more natural wake-up call from seven thirty onwards. I do ask the kids not to open their stockings in their rooms as I - of course - like to see their faces, so we go downstairs to the drawing room and open presents in front of the fire. Again, I have my Christmas songs playing, my husband and I must have tea in our hands (the children nibble their gingerbread houses for breakfast), the dogs get over-excited with all the wrapping paper being thrown about…It’s chaotic and noisy and wonderful. I cook the turkey overnight in the Aga so there’s always that wonderful aroma when we come down. If possible, we try to delay opening the presents under the tree until at least lunchtime, but of course the children are just bursting so it’s usually more like eleven am! If the weather allows, we go for a big walk on the forest with the dogs. I’m very aware that these are the golden years of our family Christmases and I treasure every moment of it.

Q) When do you normally put your Christmas tree up?

Usually the second weekend in December, in time for the nativity plays, but I think it could well be the first of December this year. After months of my house being a building site, I am beyond desperate to reclaim my home and beautify it!

Q) Favourite Christmas film?

When I was little, it was The Wizard of Oz, bizarrely.  It’s nothing to do with Christmas at all, of course, but it always seemed to be on so now it’s Christmassy for me, by association. For proper Christmas, I do love It’s A Wonderful Life - last year, we broke with tradition and spent Christmas in a glorious chalet in the Swiss Alps and it was just magical watching it, flopped on the  squashy sofas, log fire crackling with snow-capped peaks outside the window…  

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and an ADHD puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest in Sussex, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs. Her first novel, Players, was published in 2010, followed by Prima Donna and Christmas at Tiffany's in 2011.

You can find Karen at;
Twitter: @KarenSwan1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenSwanAuthor




!! Festive Giveaway Time !!

The Lovely Karen Swan is offering one lucky winner a copy of her new book Christmas in The SnowSorry but this is giveaway is UK only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book News: Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan

How Pretty does this cover look? 

Karen Swan is back this winter with a new Christmas book! 

Who's excited!?!

No secret stays buried forever...

In London, the snow is falling and Christmas is just around the corner - but Allegra Fisher barely has time to notice. She's pitching for the biggest deal of her career and can't afford to fail. And when she meets attractive stranger, Sam Kemp, on the plane to the meeting, she can't afford to lose her focus either. She learned to shut off her emotions long ago and only her sister and best friend Isobel knows why. But when Allegra finds herself up against Sam for the bid, their passion quickly turns sour.

In Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, a long-lost mountain hut is discovered in the snow after sixty years and the last person expecting to become involved is Allegra - she hasn't even heard of the woman they found inside. But it soon becomes clear the two women are linked and, as she and Iz travel out to make sense of the mystery, hearts thaw and dark secrets are uncovered, long buried by the snow.

With glamorous locations and heart-breaking twists, Christmas in the Snow is all you need in your stocking for a truly decadent Christmas holiday.
The perfect gift - even if it's just to yourself.

Christmas in the Snow is out 6th November
!!Pre-order now!!

Paperback                  Kindle

The Summer Without You Blog Tour by Karen Swan: Review

Title: The Summer Without You
Author: Karen Swan
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Publication Date: 22nd May 2014


Blurb

Rowena Tipton isn't looking for a new life, just a new adventure, something to while away the months as her long-term boyfriend presses pause on their relationship before they become engaged. But when a chance encounter at a New York wedding leads to an audition for a coveted houseshare in The Hamptons - Manhattan's elite beach scene - suddenly a new life is exactly what she's got.

Stretching before her is a summer with three eclectic housemates, long days on white sand ocean beaches and parties on gilded tennis courts. But high rewards bring high stakes and Rowena soon finds herself caught in the crossfire of a vicious intimidation campaign. Alone for the first time in her adult life, she has no-one to turn to but a stranger who is everything she doesn't want - but possibly everything she needs.



Verdict

I am such a huge fan of Karen Swan's books and I always love all the covers they are so Christmassy and pretty. This time around Karen Swan has shocked us all and brought a book for the summer and has a very beautiful summery feel book! It's great, I love the cover so much. Doesn't reveal very much about what the story could be about...

We meet Rowena Tipton who is on the rocks with her long-term boyfriend, He decides he needs a break and goes to the other side of the world for months putting a pause on their relationship before getting engaged. Rowena ends up with a chance to houseshare in the Hampton's for the summer with 3 crazy housemates, what couldn't be better...?

I enjoyed this so so much, It was great, plenty going on and had me hooked completely. Loved everything about this book, The characters were great! Rowena comes across bit soft and to let her boyfriend just walk away from their relationship to have a break, I thought I would dislike her and she would really annoy me, However loved following Rowena's footsteps and seeing her make new friends. Loved the friendship between Her and Hump, Hump came across as an amazing guy who obviously looked to Rowena as his sister.

The Summer Without You has a really great summer feel and Karen has written a perfect book that has plenty of twists & turns, keep you guessing throughout the book and just wonderful. It is the perfect book for this summer and take on your holidays. I am excited to see what Karen Swan has install for all us readers again!

Book Review: Christmas At Claridges by Karen Swan

Title: Christmas At Claridges

Author: Karen Swan

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Publication Date: 7th November 2013

Blurb

This was where her dreams drifted to if she didn’t blot her nights out with drink; this was where her thoughts settled if she didn’t fill her days with chat. She remembered this tiny, remote foreign village on a molecular level and the sight of it soaked into her like water into sand, because this was where her old life had ended and her new one had begun.

’Portobello – home to the world-famous street market, Notting Hill Carnival and Clem Alderton. She’s the queen of the scene, the girl everyone wants to be or be with. But beneath the morning-after makeup, Clem is keeping a secret, and when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything – her home, her job and even her adored brother’s love.

Portofino – a place of wild beauty and old-school glamour, and where a neglected villa has been bought by a handsome stranger. He wants Clem to restore it for him and it seems like the answer to all her problems – except that Clem has been there once before and vowed, for her own protection, never to return . . .

Verdict
This was just fantastic, however the cover and the title is a little misleading as it starts in new year not Christmas. Something deep and secret happened in the little place Portofino that Clem wants to keep secret and will do anything not to go back there again.

Clem Alderton works for her brother Tom Alderton's company, but when she goes too far one reckless night she endangers everything - her home, her job and even her adored brother's love.
Clem will do anything to help her brother's company get back to its normal state even if when she comes up with a plan to do a fashion shop for one day only with the help of her crazy friend Stella who is a fashion designer... but even that won't help until a handsome stranger wants Clem to restore a neglected villa that he has just bought and it seems the best thing to do get away from everyone, however when she realises its to go back to Portofino...she vowed for her own protection she would never return....until now!

This really is a fantastic read, I have loved other books before by Karen Swan and I loved the cover first of, it looks all beautiful and snowy & cute.
The first couple of chapters start of slow but when you get about half way things are just about to heat up which makes you stop what your doing and just curl up and carry on reading.

I loved Stella, the crazy best friend of Clem's and the fashion designer, she reminded me of my friends and how she could be a bad influence to Clem at times but also would help her in anyway she could.
You easily warm to Clem and even feel sorry for her at times, especially her brother's girlfriend who is soo nasty to Clem trying to kick her out straight away. You just wish Clem to have lots of happiness in which she does by the end tehe!

I never could predict the ending, It really was perfect by the end It was Christmas hehe.
I loved reading about the little town Portofino, it just seemed ever so peaceful and would be glorious. Karen Swan definitely put plenty of passion into this book and plenty of secrets and heartbreak leaves you hooked right until the end.

Christmas at Claridges deserves the 5 star rating for its emotional, secretive, hooking story & for the most beautiful cover once again!
 

The Perfect Present By Karen Swan

Title: The Perfect Present

Author: Karen Swan

Publication Date: 8th November 2012

Publisher: Pan

Haunted by a past she can't escape, Laura Cunningham desires nothing more than to keep her world small and precise - her quiet relationship and growing jewellery business are all she needs to get by. Until the December day when Rob Blake walks into her studio and commissions a necklace that will tell his enigmatic wife Cat's life in charms.

 As Laura interviews Cat's family,friends and former lovers, she steps out of her world and into theirs - a charmed world where weekends are spent in Verbier and the air is lavender-scented, where friends are wild, extravagant and jealous, and a big love has to compete with grand passions. Hearts are opened, secrets revealed and as the necklace begins to fill up with trinkets, Cat's intoxicating life envelops Laura's own.By the time she has to identify the final charm, Laura's metamorphosis is almost complete. But the last story to tell has the power to change all of their lives forever, and Laura is forced to choose between who she really is and who it is she wants to be.

This was another perfect Christmas read this year, First time I saw The Perfect Present I just knew it was going to be a great read, it was such a cute front cover a very good chick lit cover and very eye catching.
I've never read a book by Karen Swan before so i was a bit worried I might not like this, but I was totally wrong, I loved every minute of it.

We meet the ever so sweet Laura Cunningham who is haunted by her past and has a pretty basic and small life of her growing jewellery business, her quiet relationship and a lovely best friend who keeps her sane and helps in her business. Laura is busy away sorting all her Christmas orders and making little charms when the ever so charming Rob Blake swans in and asks Laura to make him a necklace with lots of charms which each charm will represent each piece of his Wife Cat's life.

Laura must interview a few people in Cat's family,friends and former lovers..But Laura steps out of her own world into Cat's..will she change altogether or will she stay enclosed in her small simple life?

I absolutely adored this book ever so much, In the book you never really find out what haunts Laura until the last quarter of the book which actually had me in tears and felt very sorry for her indeed.
I loved the little places she visits while on her travels for the interviews, where she meets the ever so batty Kitty who is an old best friend of Cat's who has a crazy life but still wishes to be part of Cat's life but that just isn't going to happen...

I loved the style of writing and Karen definitely described everything in beautiful detail and at times I wished I could of been part of Laura's life or even the ever so handsome Rob Blake...now he just had me drooling hehe.

I loved all the characters in the book, I don't want to give the names away too much but they are all crazy but also wonderful in their own sort of way and how some of them piece Cat's life together through the interviews and the charms did make me smile.
This book is definitely in my top 10 books of the Christmas reads for 2012. You must grab a copy and read., It will make you smile,cry but also giggle.I will certainly be reading more of Karen's books and will make sure some of my friends do too!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

 Well the time has come around again, Yes Christmas has arrived he he! Now I love this time of year its just perfect for sharing and receiving presents but also spreading lots of love to friends and family. 
I wish you all a wonderful and special Merry Christmas, I hope you all have a splendid time and eat and drink lots and spread so much love around.

I have had a fantastic time building up to the festive celebration with some great new books that came out.
Now there has been some wonderful Christmassy reads and I have certainly thoroughly enjoyed them ever so much! I am such a chick-lit fan and I have loved all the Christmassy feel books this year!

Here is my list of perfect Chick-Lit Christmas Books 2012
(They are all a must read and will definitely get you in the festive mood!)

 Belinda Jones - Winter Wonderland
My Review Of Winter Wonderland

Jenny Colgan - Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe
My Review Of Christmas At The Cupcake Cafe

Carole Matthews - With Love At Christmas
My Review Of With Love At Christmas

Milly Johnson - A Winter Flame
My Review Of A Winter Flame

Miranda Dickinson - When I Fall In Love
My Review of When I Fall In Love

Karen Swan - The Perfect Present
Review Soon!
Scarlett Bailey - Married By Christmas
Review Soon!
Julia Williams - A Merry Little Christmas
Abby Clements - Meet Me Under The Mistletoe

I have had such a fantastic day, i have been spoiled so much by friends and family he he I am now a proud owner of an Android tablet :-)  it is the perfect gift ever and was definitely a surprise!!! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY
 All the best!!
Xoxoxoxox