I am so thrilled to bring y’all an excerpt from Laura Briggs and her Return to Cornwall books. This series looks like an amazing series and one that I have added to my tbr pile. If you have been with me for a while you know how much I love books set anywhere in the UK which makes these right up my alley. check them out and let me know what you think.
Return to Cornwall: Books 1-6
The first six books in the heartfelt UK series are now available in one collection!
From a runaway bride to a reality baking show competition, to rumors of a haunted wood and, of course, a Christmas of the cosiest kind, there’s never a dull moment for event planner Julianne in the quirky village she calls home.
This book bundle contains Wedding Vows and Cornish Ribbons, Cornish Sweets and Wedding Treats, Spring Roses Under Topaz Skies, Cornish Gold at Summer’s End, Walnut Mince Pies at the Frost Fete, Secrets and Sunsets at Azure Bay.
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Thanks so much for this chance to share with everyone at Storied Conversation about my Cornish reads! I’ve recently released a box set that contains the first six stories in my new series about Julianne Rose, an event planner, wife, and mum in a quirky little seaside village. The following extract comes from the fifth book, Walnut Mince Pies at the Frost Fete, and finds Julianne learning of a crisis for the town’s up-coming festivities.
My mobile phone rang, and I swiped to accept Lady Amanda’s call. “Hello, Amanda,” I said. “Is the planning for the tea tent coming swimmingly? I’ve heard you’re turning very Ruth Goodman on us.” I was teasing her, thinking about her in historical dress that William shouldn’t have found so funny.
“Things are not going well at present, actually,” she answered, and I detected a harried note in her voice. “We’ve had disaster strike in the area where we can least afford it.”
“What do you mean?” My tone of voice told Kitty that something was wrong.
“Martin’s been called away by an emergency, a family member in surgery. He may not be back for days, even a week or two,” she said.
“Oh, no.” Martin was completely in charge of the kids’ market, and everything related to it — plans, designs, etc. “Who’s taking over? One of the other volunteers?”
“At present, I have no idea,” said Amanda. “None of the volunteers even know yet, but I’d be very surprised if one of them volunteers to take on the entire project — they came along simply to saw and hammer things,” she said. “To make matters worse, Martin didn’t have any notion of what he was planning to do yet.”
“No plans?”
“Not a blessed bit, beyond drawing pictures of a few flats for the gingerbread houses,” she said. “He said he never gives any real thought to the games and activities until the present time.”
I heard her sigh. “Frankly, it’s a complete mess. We have no ideas, no plans, no one in charge of fixing either problem, and I have no idea what to do. I rang Noreen and Nigel, but I have the impression that neither of them had any useful advice — unfortunately, as this year’s coordinator, it’s my job to fix it.” She paused. “I don’t suppose you and Kitty would like to —”
“We’re already doing the greenery booth, a turn at the crafts table, and a shift at the business and tourism booth for Cherish’s lunch period,” I pointed out. “We’d do more, but our client’s wedding is Christmas week.”
“I know, I know, the question is simply popping out of me automatically,” said Amanda, with a sigh. “I don’t know. I’m ringing a few of the volunteers to beg shortly.”
“What about putting out the call at the meeting this afternoon?” I asked.
“I’d rather have someone before then,” she said. “I don’t want to lose momentum or confidence. The volunteers building the Father Christmas village will be wanting to know if the design is changing — if the plans will be ready for building this weekend.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought of that. I felt guilty suddenly for not being able to take it over, but Kitty and I couldn’t run two stalls and volunteer for two more as well — the crafts table for the kids was a two person job at best, and someone would have to watch the greenery stall while the craft and tourism stall was being manned, unless some last-minute volunteers materialized.
“I must ring off. Lorrie is next on my list,” said Amanda. “I know that it’s probably the season for reviews or something, but surely she could spare a tiny bit of time to entertain the kids at the market?”
Lorrie would probably feel otherwise about this plan, since it would be impossible to work on reports and review files while getting kids to play games in a plywood village — but I didn’t want to burst Lady Amanda’s bubble this soon after disappointment. “I hope so,” I answered. “We’ll be at the meeting this afternoon, and I have time after the appointment with the wedding’s baker, so I can help the team building the Father Christmas village if it’s needed. Don’t worry, if we have to, all the volunteers can come up with an idea to finish the village work without Martin.” Probably. I tried to sound encouraging about the idea of harmony coming from twenty-odd people making suggestions about the same project.
Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller ‘A Wedding in Cornwall’. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.
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Giveaway – Win either an e-copy of Return to Cornwall: Books 1-6 or A Novelty Scarf (Open INT)
Prize Winner #1: An eBook copy of the box set Return to Cornwall: Books 1-6.
Prize Winner #2: A novelty scarf featuring cover art from my Cornish romance books.
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Adriane says
Love an excerpt – gives me a chance to get a feel for the writer’s style
Eva Millien says
Author Suggestion ~ Sharon Hamilton
Backlist Book ~ Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston
Bea LaRocca says
Thank you for sharing this excerpt from the Return to Cornwall collection, this sounds like a must read series for me. On a personal note, I was born in Cornwall…New York.
Nova S says
wow what a bundle!! this sounds like a bunch of fun and easy reads
Elizabeth says
A whole Cornwall series sounds excellent!