Blog tour: The Disgraced Knight's Redemption

The Disgraced Knight's Redemption

A disgraced warrior…

Torn between duty and desire!

Sir Tristan must win back his honor. His orders from King Edward are simple: seek out the leader of Pwll Du Castle—the unmarried Lady Catrin—and demand she leaves. As Tristan is renowned for his lethal charm and handsome looks, how can she resist? But when the beautiful Welshwoman comes under siege from her covetous neighbor, Tristan finds himself fighting for her! Yet, is it a losing battle? For securing the castle and fulfilling his knightly duty will mean letting Catrin go…

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DVT2MT3R

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVT2MT3R

Author Bio –

Ella Matthews lives and works in beautiful South Wales. She writes medieval romances for Mills & Boon. When not thinking about handsome heroes she can be found walking along the coast with her husband and their two children (probably still thinking about heroes but at least pretending to be interested in everyone else). 

Social Media Links –

• https://www.facebook.com/ellamattwriter
• https://www.instagram.com/ellamatthewsauthor/ 
• https://x.com/ellamattauthor 
• https://www.threads.net/@ellamatthewsauthor
• https://www.tiktok.com/@ella.matthews004

 

 

Review: The Wordsmith's Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot

 

The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot

* DO YOU STRUGGLE TO FINISH WRITING A NOVEL?
* DO YOU RUN OUT OF MOMENTUM BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOUR STORY IS GOING?

The Wordsmith’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Plot is your trusted companion for turning story ideas into structured, compelling narratives. In this fourth instalment of the Wordsmith’s Guides series, Elizabeth M. Hurst takes you through popular plotting methods—including the Snowflake Method, Save the Cat Beat Sheet, and The Inside Outline—helping you choose the right approach for your writing style. You’ll also find practical advice on troubleshooting common pitfalls, crafting satisfying endings, and keeping your plan adaptable as your story evolves.

Inside, you’ll discover:

• Clear explanations of proven plotting methods
• Guidance on choosing the right structure for your novel
• Tips for overcoming plot issues and staying on track
• Advice on writing satisfying, well-rounded endings
• A practical appendix full of tools and templates to support your planning process

 

Whether you're a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between, Planning the Perfect Plot will help you shape your novel with clarity and confidence.

Review - First, this cover is simply lovely. As a well-renowned book dragon, covers are important to me. My hoarded collection has to look lovely as it collects dust. This book fits the bill. It's simple, clean with just the right amount of color. Kudos to the designed (really hope it isn't AI). 

However, what makes this novel lovely doesn't end at the cover. It's a very useful guide that summarizes at least 4 other books. By doing so, writers can figure out what style will work best for them without wasting precious writing time digging through several books or workshops only to figure out it isn't the right fit. I love the addition of templates and worksheets as a way to help organize and "try on" some of the various styles. In addition, the tips on fixing common structural errors is spot on. This is a book about writing by a person who understands the art form. It's practical, useful and still allows room for style. 

Purchase Link - https://geni.us/PlottingAmazon

Author Bio –

Elizabeth was born and bred in the picturesque harbor town of Whitehaven in the northwest of England, where the long, wet winters molded her into a voracious reader of fiction to escape the dismal weather.

She graduated with a degree in Business Studies and a string of jobs followed, after which she finally settled in the automotive industry, where she spent twelve happy years.

Having already started writing around the age of 40, she had begun to dream of a more creative lifestyle and set about creating her freelance editing and proofreading business, EMH Editorial Services. In 2018, she quit the corporate world and concentrated her energy full-time towards her love of the written word.

Elizabeth now lives with her husband in the warm and sunny south of France, where the wine is cheaper than the water, and the cats spend their days hunting lizards and dreaming of the birds that roost on the roof.

Social Media Links –

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMHurstAuthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizhurstauthor/

Website: https://elizabethhurstauthor.com/

 

Review: The Approval of Sheep by Karen Storey

 

Gordon Slee fears he was never meant to be born. Anxious since childhood after hearing he was an accident, the forty-two-year-old is still struggling to escape the shadow of his high-achieving family.

But a glimmer of hope is on the horizon – a huge promotion within his hotel group is up for grabs, and he is sure that his time has come to make a mark on the world.

However, within his own department, redundancies are afoot. He may lose his job before he gets the chance. Until he learns of a historic covenant that preserves the right for sheep to run through the company’s top London hotel. Could he convince his boss that he’s the man to save the hotel from catastrophe?

Up in Bryn Nefyn, North Wales, live the descendants of the covenant owner. The elderly sheep farmer and his aging hippy brother could use the money the hotel might offer. But along with their strong-willed American shepherdess, they laugh at Gordon’s attempts to negotiate a deal. Surely, they couldn’t use a covenant that’s been forgotten about for over a hundred years.

Or could they?

For lovers of upmarket commercial fiction with a touch of romance and comedy, The Approval of Sheep is an uplifting story about family and love, overcoming adversity and discovering our reason for our place in this world.

 Review

Poor Gordon Slee just can't get find his place in the world. He's older, broke and struggling to feel connected. Worse, he needs leverage against his boss to try and negotiate a promotion. When a herd of sheep feels like the best solution to your problems, you are in a bad spot, indeed.

Much like the author's Chicken Soup stories, this novel is uplifting and touching. It's also very funny. Full of cultural nuance, it's a smart comedy of errors that will leave you grateful for Gordon Slee's presence in your world. 

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Approval-Sheep-Karen-Storey-ebook/dp/B0FNLYFSV6

https://www.amazon.com/Approval-Sheep-Karen-Storey-ebook/dp/B0FNLYFSV6

 

Author Bio –

Karen Storey is an award winning fiction writer and has been featured on the acclaimed book podcast, The Bestseller Experiment. As well as a novelist, she is a prolific short story writer. Her stories have been published in various anthologies and placed in several international competitions. Her memoir pieces have also been published within the New York Times bestselling book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Originally from New York City, Karen lives in Warwickshire, England and has written articles for American in Britain magazine. She lives with her husband, whose surname Storey was the perfect wedding gift. They share their home with a snarky cat who writes Karen’s monthly author newsletters and a crazy little Bichon Frise dog who barks at his own reflection. You can visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter at www.karenstoreyauthor.com

The Approval of Sheep is Karen’s first novel.

 

Social Media Links –

Instagram karenstoreyauthor  https://www.instagram.com/karenstoreyauthor/

Threads karenstoreyauthor    https://www.threads.net/@karenstoreyauthor

 X StoreytellerK     https://twitter.com/StoreytellerK

Facebook Karen Storey   https://www.facebook.com/karen.okeefe.773

Blue Sky karenstoreyauthor   https://bsky.app/profile/karenstoreyauthor.bsky.social

Review: Kalahari Passage by Candi Miller

 

Kalahari Passage: Koba book 2

Koba and Mannie have been in jail. Their crime, loving each other across the Apartheid colour bar in southern Africa. Koba escapes her captors and using her bush skills, finds her way across the semi-desert to her former tribal home. But adapting to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle after a decade away, has challenges. And her mortal enemy is on her trail.

   Meanwhile Mannie absconds during his parole and sets off on a sub-continental road trip to find his beloved Koba. But will his new comrades persuade him to join them across the border for training in deadly guerrilla warfare? And what will that mean for his future with Koba? 

   Under tragic circumstances the lovers meet, but the danger they are in means they face  heart-breaking choices.

Kalahari Passage is an action-packed story of a search for identity and love. Readers will be spellbound by Koba’s world where an ancient culture dances, trances and lives in harmony with the land.

Review

What an interesting piece of fictional anthropology that weaves a culture from the dawn of humanity into the modern horrors of racism. I'm not sure I've ever read a romantic novel that left me more shaken. I am struggling to find the right words to review a book that felt more like a revelation than a story. The characters are deftly created through a deep understanding of the cultural events that shaped them. The events have unexpected complications and there is deft use of symbolism.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy your stories to have impact beyond the reading. This brilliantly-written interracial love story will provoke thought as you look at your own place in the complex world and hopefully ask yourself how we can make the world a little less cruel for everyone living in it. 

Purchase Links

Kalahari Passage: https://mybook.to/7qAtkQA

Koba series:  https://mybook.to/T81RWsf

Author Bio –

Candi Miller was born in southern Africa and has spent more than twenty years researching the first peoples of the region, a group who have now adopted the exonym of San or Bushmen. She taught creative writing at UK universities. She now lives in Cornwall where she is writing the last book of the Koba trilogy. She is republishing her novels to support a school feeding scheme she co-founded for San children in 2017.

Social Media Links –

https://candimiller.substack.com

Insta & TikTok @candimillerauthor

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092417402759

Review: My Lie, Your Lie

 He thought heartbreak was the worst part.

Then came the need for revenge.

Patrick Tyrrell’s perfect marriage shatters the day his husband, Barney, leaves him—for a woman.

Marcella. Beautiful. Alluring. Dangerous.

Patrick can’t let it go. Why her? Why now? The questions consume him — until obsession turns to something far darker. As unsettling events unfold and violence creeps closer, Patrick faces the one temptation more powerful than love or jealousy:

Revenge.

But revenge has its own price. And once it begins, there may be no way back.

A taut, unsettling psychological thriller about betrayal, obsession, and whether vengeance ever truly heals the wound — or only feeds it.

Review

This book is not comfortable. It's heavy and angsty and disquieting. The writer has strong plot structure so the book traps you and doesn't let go. As a thriller, that works, but it's not fluffy or fun. This is a very good psychological thriller but be prepared for what it is. 

The book explores that thin line between love and hate. The crumbling of a love story is painful and often leads to violence, as any aficionado of true crime can attest. It's very evident here how that happens. So kudos to the author - I was left with a lot to think about and mourn.

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Lie-Your-Paul-Clayton-ebook/dp/B0FPBJP29B/

https://www.amazon.com/My-Lie-Your-Paul-Clayton-ebook/dp/B0FPBJP29B/

 

Author Bio – Paul Clayton is a familiar face on screen, best known for his roles as Sophie’s dad in the BAFTA-winning Peep Show and Graham in the acclaimed Him & Her. Currently, he appears as Drew Peacock in EastEnders, Dennis in Disney’s sequel to The Full Monty and has featured in Brian and Margaret, Wolf Hall, House of the Dragon, and over 300 stage and screen roles.

 

He'll be seen in the new ITV thriller Secret Service, and in Season 3 of House of the Dragon

 

Beyond acting, Paul is an internationally recognised creative event director and sought-after presentation coach. His previous thrillers, The Punishment and The Hoax, have gripped readers, while his books for actors—So You Want to Be a Corporate Actor? and The Working Actor (both published by Nick Hern Books)—offer invaluable industry insight.

 

He lives in London with his partner.

Social Media Links – 

X – Claytoncast

Insta – Claytoncastgram

Giveaway to Win a Signed Copy of My Lie Your Lie (Open to UK only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

<a class="e-widget no-button" href="https://gleam.io/wkyhA/win-a-signed-copy-of-my-lie-your-lie-open-to-uk-only" rel="nofollow">

 Win a Signed Copy of My Lie Your Lie (Open to UK only)

</a>

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://widget.gleamjs.io/e.js" async="true"></script>

Review: The Teacher Evacuees

 

There are more dangers than German bombs in wartime...

Canadian-born teacher Victoria takes up a new position at a London school, but soon finds herself coordinating its evacuation to a Norfolk village along with standoffish spinster Beatrice and quiet young Nell. Victoria has to adapt to life in the countryside, petty politics and local busybodies. 

 When she meets attractive naval officer Louis Grainger, romance blossoms. Victoria is drawn into a clandestine world and told that she is helping the British government, but after she catches Louis covertly meeting a suspicious stranger in nearby woods, she fears the worst -- a traitor in their midst.

 It's a race against time for Victoria to discover the truth and keep the village -- and the country -- safe from invasion. 

 A thrilling and compulsive Second World War saga for fans of Lesley Eames, Katie Flynn and Betty Walker. 

'Leaves your breathless' Maisie Thomas

'Impossible to put down' Eva Glyn 

'A brilliant start to a thrilling new wartime saga series' Betty Walker

'A gripping saga' Vicki Beeby

Review

I read a lot of historical fiction so I am always fascinated by a book that teaches me a thing or two, especially about the vastly covered World War II era. This book was beautifully done. The teachers carry a heavy burden as they accompany the children from London to the rural areas deemed safer from the war. The kids need their teachers and the story reminds us why EVERY kid needs a good teacher. 

It would've been easy to rely on heartstrings to carry the novel, but Rose Warner masterfully creates plots ad character that create a delightful and intriguing story that will keep you reading into the night.

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/TheTeacherEvacuees

Pre-order paperbacks beyond Amazon:

Blackwell’s online: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Teacher-Evacuees-by-Rose-Warner/9781835980262

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-teacher-evacuees/rose-warner/9781835980262

Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-teacher-evacuees-rose-warner/7731556?ean=9781835980262

Hive: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Rose-Warner/The-Teacher-Evacuees--A-thrilling-and-page-turning-WWII-h/30586718

Author Bio –

Rose Warner, who also publishes as Jen Gilroy, writes historical women’s /saga fiction and feel-good contemporary romance. She has been a finalist for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award and Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart® award.

She’s Canadian-British and although now based in Canada lived in England for many years and has undertaken extensive research in the WW2 and post-war periods. As Jen Gilroy she writes sweet small-town romance for Harlequin Heartwarming (HarperCollins) and has also published with Grand Central Forever (Hachette) and others. 

When not writing, she enjoys reading, ice cream, ballet and paddling her purple kayak.

Visit Rose / Jen online at https://www.jengilroy.com

Social Media Links –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenGilroyAuthor/

X: https://www.x.com/JenGilroy1

Cover Reveal: Journey to the Scottish Highlands by Julie Shackman

Daisy’s career hasn’t exactly been going to plan and the last thing she wants to do is stay home and wallow in self-pity. So, when an opportunity arises to escape her London home, and make some money working a fancy event at a stately home, she jumps at it.

Determined to make the most out of the situation, she decides a road trip to the Scottish Highlands would be the perfect way to reset and take control of her life.

When devilishly handsome Evan finds himself stranded at the event following a cancelled flight to Scotland, Daisy does the kindest thing she can think of and invites him to join her. As they embark on their journey north, will the scenic trip help them rediscover themselves, and possibly even find something they weren’t expecting…

Pre-order Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-Scottish-Highlands-contemporary-romance-ebook/dp/B0FBT1BBXT

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Scottish-Highlands-contemporary-romance-ebook/dp/B0FBT1BBXT

Publication Date: 29th January 2026

Author Bio – Julie Shackman is a former journalist from Scotland, who has always wanted to write feel-good romance. 

As well as being an author, Julie also writes verses and captions for greetings card companies. Julie admits to having an obsession with stationery and handbags. 

She has two sons and a Romanian rescue pup, Cooper. 

Journey to the Scottish Highlands is Julie's fourteenth novel.

Social Media Links – 

Julie Shackman Author 

Julie Shackman (@G13Julie) / Twitter

Julie Georgina Shackman (@juliegeorginashackman) • Instagram photos and videos

(2) Julie Georgina Shackman | Facebook