book launch

Author Interview – Introducing Penny Rogers and Amelie At The Window

November 7, 2025 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Penny Rogers and Bridge House Publishing for supplying book cover and author shots. Other images created in Book Brush using images from them or from Pixabay using their photos. One image from a past Bridge House Publishing celebration event was taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is always a joy to welcome fellow authors to Chandler’s Ford Today, especially when they are fellow Bridge House Publishing writers. Penny Dale, who writes as Penny Rogers, is someone I have often chatted to at the Bridge House Publishing Celebration Event held annually in December.

Penny has had many stories in The Best of CafeLit anthologies. Indeed she and I have had our work in the same books but it is a great joy to congratulate Penny on her forthcoming book, Amelie at the Window.

The title story started life as a short story but other stories about Amelie’s life emerged in response to popular demand and this led to the book being written. It is written in two halves as a collection of short stories about the people who lived in a fictional small town in France in 1914 and again in 1924. So much happened in those ten years.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Amelie At The Window, author interview, book launch, Bridge House Publishing, Cafelit, flash fiction, historical fiction, marketing, new book, Penny Rogers, short stories, writing tips

Author Interview: Introducing Hannah Retallick

November 29, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Hannah Retallick for supplying book cover, book launch, and author photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images or photos supplied by Hannah or are directly from PIxabay.

I am so pleased to welcome Hannah Retallick to Chandler’s Ford Today. Hannah, like me, is a Bridge House Publishing stalwart, and her debut short story collection, Something Very Human, has just been published by them. Hannah and I have been in many of the anthologies they have produced.

Hannah is an excellent flash fiction writer and has gained recognition in many international competitions, including receiving Highly Commended in the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2022, winning the £2000 Edinburgh Award for Flash Fiction 2024 – the biggest flash prize in the UK – and being Highly Commended in the Bath Flash Fiction Award. All of these are highly prestigious in the flash fiction world.

Tags: author interview, book launch, Bridge House Publishing, debut story collection, flash fiction, Hannah Retallick, short form fiction, Something Very Human, writing journey, writing routine

Behind The Curtain with Anita D Hunt

September 27, 2024 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Lynsey Adams for supplying book cover, blog tour, and author pics. Many thanks to Anita D Hunt for supplying images from Cornwall relating to Behind The Curtain. Images of Anita from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, were taken by Keith Hinchy. Other Swanwick images were taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the screenshot of Anita’s fascinating memory workbooks. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images with some directly from Pixabay.

It is with great pleasure I welcome debut novelist and fellow Swanwicker, Anita D Hunt, to Chandler’s Ford Today. Anita’s novel, Behind the Curtain, is a domestic noir published by SpellBound Books.

The novel was launched at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick following its release in paperback on 2nd August. Anita had the joy of signing copies in the Book Room, almost literally hot off the press.

Tags: am reading, am writing, Anita D Hunt. Behind The Curtain, author inspiration, blurbs, book blog tours, book launch, Cornwall Writers, creating characters, crime fiction, domestic noir, Lynsey Adams, marketing, Reading Between The Lines Book Vlog, Spellbound Books, The Writers' Summer School - Swanwick, themes, writing groups, writing journey

Remember, Remember: Author Interview – Richard Hardie

December 1, 2023 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Richard Hardie for supplying author pics and book cover shots. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as was the photo of Richard Hardie at the Book Fair at The Hilt in 2023. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Authors Reach logos taken from previous CFT articles (again thanks to Richard for those).

Back in February, I had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Hardie about his forthcoming book, Remember, Remember, the third in his Temporal Detective Series.

The series is aimed at Young Adults. I am glad to say that many of us who no longer quality in that category, and have been excluded for some time, also find these books a fantastic and enjoyable read. One of the joys of Young Adult fiction is that it makes an excellent gateway into adult fiction – and that gateway can work both ways!

Tags: Authors Reach, book launch, creative writing, Leap of Faith, marketing, new book, Remember Remember, Richard Hardie, Temporal Detective Agency, Trouble With Swords

Author Interview: Val Penny – Hunter’s Secret, Advice on Writing a Series, and Blog Tours

October 13, 2023 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:- Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Many thanks to Val Penny for supplying book and author photos and some fabulous shots of Edinburgh. Photos of The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is always a joy to welcome authors to Chandler’s Ford Today and it is especially lovely to welcome back Scottish crime writer, Val Penny. I interviewed Val in June. She is a busy soul with a new book out and a new role at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick as well.

She also has huge experience of blog tours which form a major marketing “foundation” for many authors when it comes to launching new books. More on that shortly. Val’s latest book is Hunter’s Secret, the latest in her fabulous DCI Hunter Wilson series (also known as the Edinburgh Crime Mysteries so no prizes for guessing where the setting is!).

Tags: advice on writing a book series, blog tour, book launch, crime fiction, Hunter's Secret, preparing for publication day, publication news, Spellbound Books, The Writers' Summer School at Swanwick, Val Penny, writing series

Author Interview: Gail Aldwin and The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell

June 30, 2023 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Gail Aldwin for supplying splendid author/book cover photos and the cover reveal mini video. All other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

It is with pleasure I welcome Gail Aldwin back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Gail is a prolific writer. As well as writing her coming of age novels including the lovely This Much Huxley Knows, Gail has written flash fiction. Her book, Paisley Shirt, was published by Chapeltown Books.

Gail has had pieces on CafeLit. Her latest book, The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell, takes a different direction. This psychological suspense novel will be published by Bloodhound Books on 3rd July. Gail will be holding a Twitter book launch (which is something I’ve not come across before and want to know more about!).

Tags: am reading, am writing, book launch, changing writing directions, dual timelines in a novel, Gail Aldwin, outlining, psychological suspense, The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell, Twitter book launch, writing journey

Part 2 – Francesca Tyer – Author Interview

June 23, 2023 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for her fabulous author and book photo pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is great to welcome back Francesca Tyer for Part 2 of her interview. Francesca is part of the Authors Reach stable and is the author of The Firestone, The Seastone, and, shortly to be launched, The Earthstone.

There is so much hard work behind writing any book, yet alone a series, and given most authors spend so much of their time at their desks, it is great to get away from that for a while to have an enjoyable discussion about writing and to spread the news about our latest works.

So welcome back to Chandler’s Ford Today, Francesca. Now to pick up from where we left off last week.

Tags: Authors Reach, book launch, creative writing, fantasy, fiction, Francesca Tyer, marketing, networking, outlining, The Earthstone, The Firestone, The Seastone, workshops, YA

Author Interview – Francesca Tyer – Part 1

June 16, 2023 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for her fabulous author and book photo pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

It is with great pleasure I welcome back Francesca Tyer to Chandler’s Ford Today. Francesca is one of many authors who are part of the Authors Reach stable (the driving creative force behind that is Richard Hardie, author of Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords).

Tags: author interview, Authors Reach, book launch, Francesca Tyer, The Earthstone, The Firestone, The Seastone

Author Interview: Richard Hardie – Remember, Remember

February 10, 2023 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

A huge thank you to Richard Hardie for supplying author, location, and book cover shots (and one of the author’s assistant – Oscar!). Other images created by Allison Symes in Book Brush using Pixabay photos or taken as screenshots by her or are directly from Pixabay. One shot of Richard at a previous speaking engagement was taken by Allison at The Hiltonbury Farmhouse.

It is with pleasure I share the news Richard Hardie, author of Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords, will be releasing his third book in his Temporal Detective Agency series. The third book is called Remember, Remember for reasons that will become apparent when you read it! Richard is also planning to release his fourth book soon too. This will be a collection of short stories linked to his Temporal Detective Agency.

Definitely time for another CFT interview then!

Tags: author news, book launch, fiction, Leap of Faith, local author, marketing, Remember Remember, Richard Hardie, short stories, Trouble With Swords, writing tips, YA novels

Deadly Traditions – Interview with Wendy H Jones

December 9, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Wendy H Jones for supplying author and book cover pictures. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay.

It is lovely to welcome Wendy H Jones back to Chandler’s Ford Today with news of her latest publication. It is another departure from Wendy’s usual line of work too. This time, Wendy has a short story in Deadly Traditions, which is a crime and Christmas anthology.

Tags: author interview, book launch, Christmas fiction, Deadly Traditions, new book, short story anthology. cosy crime fiction, Wendy H Jones

PART 2 – Ruth Leigh and The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge

October 28, 2022 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Ruth Leigh for supplying author pictures and book cover shots. Other photos created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. The image of Jane Austen is taken directly from Pixabay.

It is a joy to welcome Ruth Leigh back to Chandler’s Ford Today. Last week we discussed her forthcoming launch for The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge, the latest in her series involving her wonderfully funny and moving creation. This week, we look at the issues of marketing and how well Ruth needed to know Isabella before writing her stories up.

And now back to Ruth. Welcome back, Ruth.

Tags: book launch, characters, creative fiction, Isabella M Smugge, marketing, publication, Ruth Leigh, series fiction, The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge

Ruth Leigh and The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge – Part 1

October 21, 2022 By Allison Symes Leave a Comment

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Ruth Leigh for supplying author pictures and book cover shots. Other photos created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

It is with great pleasure I welcome Ruth Leigh back to Chandler’s Ford Today to talk about her hilarious and moving creation, Isabella M Smugge. Ruth has written her third book in the series – The Continued Times of Isabella M Smugge.

Ruth Leigh

Ruth Leigh is a freelance writer, novelist and book reviewer. Married with three children, a cat, one husband and assorted poultry, she is a recovering over-achiever.

Tags: author interview, book launch, creative writing, Isabella M Smugge, marketing, publication news, Ruth Leigh

Book Launch Report: Anne Wan at Waterstones, West Quay

October 13, 2017 By Allison Symes 3 Comments

Image Credit: All images kindly supplied by Anne Wan.

This is a slightly strange post from me as I’d hoped to go to Anne Wan’s recent book launch in Southampton but was, unfortunately, able to do so in the end.

However, I share my thoughts below on what a book launch means to an author and the work involved behind the scenes. I then hand over to Anne for her report on her special night.
[Read more…] about Book Launch Report: Anne Wan at Waterstones, West Quay

Tags: Anne Wan, arts and crafts, Barbara Large, Book Fair, book launch, book promoting, book signing, creative writing

Anne Wan: Book Launch – Friday 29th September 2017

September 27, 2017 By Allison Symes 1 Comment

I interviewed Anne Wan, local children’s author, earlier in the year and discussed with her the joys and woes of writing children’s fiction.

As I mentioned in my piece on Why Children’s Fiction Matters, all writers of adult fiction, including me, owe children’s writers a huge debt.

Nobody just “comes into” reading. There is nearly always a lifelong love of reading which has been encouraged and nurtured, but to have that, there must be the great children’s books that have rightly gone down as classics in their own right. [Read more…] about Anne Wan: Book Launch – Friday 29th September 2017

Tags: book launch, event, reading, Southampton, writing

Why have Book Signings? Report from the Station – Allison Symes

July 14, 2017 By Allison Symes 5 Comments

Image Credit: Many thanks to Janet Williams for taking the signing photos at the railway station. Like many women, I can multi task but there is a limit and even I couldn’t take a picture of myself signing a book!

Many thanks to all who came to my book signing at our lovely railway station on Saturday 8th July. Particular thanks go to Mark Miller and Nick Farthing of the Three Rivers Rail Community Partnership, Hilary Stone for “manning” the drinks and snacks bar, Janet Williams, Richard Hardie and Daniel Symes.
[Read more…] about Why have Book Signings? Report from the Station – Allison Symes

Tags: book launch, book promoting, book signing, Chandler's Ford Railway Station, Chapeltown Books, event, From Light to Dark and Back Again, local interest, writers

Great Themes by Allison Symes

April 28, 2017 By Allison Symes 2 Comments

Themes are an interesting topic for writers. Do you deliberately write to one or see what you come up with and then look to see what theme emerges?

I have done both. Sometimes a theme really does emerge after you’ve written the story because you’ve focused on portraying this particular character, what they do, what they don’t do and the consequences of all of that for them and others in the tale. [Read more…] about Great Themes by Allison Symes

Tags: advice, book launch, creative writing

Cyberlaunch Lessons by Allison Symes

April 14, 2017 By Allison Symes 4 Comments

I loved the cyber launch for From Light To Dark and Back Again held at the beginning of the month. Thanks again to Chapeltown Books and Cafelit for hosting the event. I was co-host. This post looks at how I prepared for the event and what I learned from it. I hope it will be of use to other writers. The images used in the post were those I used during the launch itself.
[Read more…] about Cyberlaunch Lessons by Allison Symes

Tags: advice, book launch, book promoting, books, Chapeltown Books, flash fiction, From Light to Dark and Back Again, publishing, writing

What is a Cyber Launch? by Allison Symes

March 30, 2017 By Allison Symes 8 Comments

A cyber launch is basically a Facebook online party celebrating the publication of your book and promoting it. There are usually quizzes with prizes, giveaways, special offers and so on. The only requirement is to be logged on to Facebook at the time of the event. [Read more…] about What is a Cyber Launch? by Allison Symes

Tags: advice, book launch, Chapeltown Books, communication, From Light to Dark and Back Again, Information, literature, publishing, writers, writing

book launch

Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Penny Rogers and Bridge House Publishing for supplying book cover and author shots. Other images created in Book Brush using images from them or from Pixabay using their photos. One image from a past Bridge House Publishing celebration event was taken by me, Allison Symes.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Hannah Retallick for supplying book cover, book launch, and author photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images or photos supplied by Hannah or are directly from PIxabay.

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Image Credits:- Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Many thanks to Val Penny for supplying book and author photos and some fabulous shots of Edinburgh. Photos of The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Gail Aldwin for supplying splendid author/book cover photos and the cover reveal mini video. All other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

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Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for her fabulous author and book photo pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

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Many thanks to Francesca Tyer for her fabulous author and book photo pics. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Wendy H Jones for supplying author and book cover pictures. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images directly from Pixabay.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Ruth Leigh for supplying author pictures and book cover shots. Other photos created in Book Brush using Pixabay images. The image of Jane Austen is taken directly from Pixabay.

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Image Credits:-

Many thanks to Ruth Leigh for supplying author pictures and book cover shots. Other photos created in Book Brush using Pixabay images.

Ruth Leigh

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