News from Carole

Hi Everyone!

Hurrah! The sun has finally arrived in the UK and, like the rest of the population I've been out barbequing plenty of sausages and myself into the bargain. I have no idea what else we've been doing this month, but it's flown by nevertheless. Work has been hard on this latest book, but I'm finally on the home straight now and then I hope that I can kick back and enjoy a bit of the summer just chilling out and recharging the batteries. I'd also like to tackle my 'to be read' pile which is now about 134 books strong (Actually, it's exactly that, because I just counted.) I am somewhat prone to buying them quicker than I can read them! But, hey, a writer's got to be an avid reader, right? We're also off to Cornwall for a week and haven't been there in years so am really looking forward to it. Hopefully, going to pay The Eden Project a visit and read some of those books! I'll be back with another newsletter at the beginning of September to catch up with you.

The Difference a Day Makes

Thanks to all of you who've said that this is my best book yet! It won't be out in paperback until the end of September, so try and grab a copy before then for your holiday reading. This is a nice
review from this week. Yay!

'This is terrific, an exceptional feel-good read about town and country living.
The world could do with loads more books like this.'
The Bookseller

'You just never know what the difference a day can make. What would you do if your life was turned upside down and everything that you'd ever relied on was taken away from you? That's the dilemma which faces Amy Ashurst in Carole Matthews' gorgeous new novel out now in the UK!

William and Amy Ashurst are typical townies, dedicated professionals at the top of the tree, with two adorable children and an au pair who cooks, cleans and cares for them all. Then one day Will collapses on his way to work and decides he's never going back.

So it is that, three months later, Amy is standing outside Helmshill Grange, a sullen monstrosity of a house, deep in the Yorkshire moors, with their own land as far as the eye can see. It's what William says he's always wanted, which is slightly worrying as he couldn't be bothered to do his own gardening in Notting Hill, and would rather pick up a book than a spade. Within days, Will's traded
in their brand-new Audi for a clapped-out Land Rover, and brought home chickens, goats,
sheep, a serial-killer cat and a mad dog. Amy's about to learn that it's one thing living the dream,
but when the dream's not your own, how long can it last?

Short Story

I've got a brand new short story appearing in the Woman's Weekly Summer Special this year - Remember Me This Way. The magazine will be available in the shops from 26 June to 4 September.

Out and About

I'm having a bit of a quiet period over the summer months, so just one event. I'll be talking at the Sports, Hobbies and Leisure show in Milton Keynes on Sunday 14 June which is being held in Campbell Park. My talk - which is about the Chocolate Lovers' books - starts at 11.45am and bring your teddy along a there's also going to be an attempt on the world record for the biggest
teddy bear's picnic later in the day.

In the Autumn, I'll be talking at Buckingham Library and doing a little jaunt around the bookshops and libraries of South Wales. More on that later.

Prize Draw

The Virgin Vie fragranced heart-shaped sachets are going out to Amy Skinner. Congratulations.
Your wardrobe will smell divine!

Chocolate Lovers' WOW mugs are going to Shelly and Jenny. These girls are seriously into The Chocolate Lovers' Club so I know they'll love their prizes!

Special Summer Competition

I'm going to make you work a bit harder this Summer but I think you'll agree that it's worth it! Would love to see photographs of you reading my books in weird and wonderful places. All you have to do is take me on holiday with you or on one of your days out or to the office if that's where you're going to be spending the summer, then send me a photo of you reading the book! The prize is a gorgeous, scrummy, yummy Lulu Guinness handbag, worth £125.00. Oh yes. This is so delicious that I might not be able to give it away at the end, so you'd better make those photos good! You can either put your photos on my Facebook page or email to me at the usual address: cmatthewsmail@aol.com and put 'Me and Your Book' in the email heading. There's one on Facebook already of my friend Owen reading 'It's A Kind of Magic' while snowboarding! If you've got any other message for me then please do it on a separate email with 'Message!' or something like that in the heading or, even better, contact me on Facebook or Myspace.

The closing date is the last day of August 2009 and the winner will be the photograph Lovely Kev deems the best!

MySpace and Facebook

Thanks to everyone for chatting to me on here. You do make me chuckle! I've just revamped the myspace page. Not sure if it's better or worse!
Do keep in touch over the summer.

myspace.com/carolematthews
www.facebook.com

Hope everyone has a lovely summer and that we're all sick of barbequed food by the end of it...

Love and kisses!

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