Christina Courtenay & The Scarlet Kimono

Hi Debs, thank you so much for letting me visit you in your lovely shed! It’s great to be here and I’ve been wanting to meet “Grumpy” for ages as I’m a huge dog fan.
I also like the sound of your garden and since you live in Jersey, I’m guessing that spring comes earlier to you than on the mainland? It can’t come fast enough for me! Don’t get me wrong, I love winter and especially the months before Christmas. I don’t mind it getting darker then as it gives that cozy feeling of wanting to curl up in front of the fire with a good book and some chocolates (although I get that all year round, come to think of it, apart from the fire bit). But then January arrives and all the festivities are over and suddenly every day seems dull, grey and cold. That’s when I start longing for spring.

Now I’m really here to talk about my new novel The Scarlet Kimono, which is coming out soon, but since it’s set in Japan, that made me think of spring as well. Nowhere in the world is this season more noticeable than in Tokyo, I think, as the cherry blossom begins to unfurl on the trees all across the city. Normally, it’s a teeming, mostly modern, metropolis with lots of high-rise buildings interspersed with more traditional ones. And like every other big city, it’s very busy with lots of traffic and enormous crowds. But come blossom time, it is totally transformed

Suddenly, you begin to notice how beautiful the streets are, lined with sakura – cherry-blossom – or ume – the slightly different flowers of the plum trees. Once the first blooms have erupted, they begin to fall (all too soon!), but that in itself creates an even prettier picture as they float slowly to the ground and are carried around by the breeze. Eventually they end up like little snow drifts of pale petals and even those are lovely to look at.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit twice in the last couple of years, and each time we managed to time our holiday there perfectly to coincide with the blossom season (which only lasts a week or two, three if you’re lucky). Now I’m longing to go back again, but I have to be content with writing about it for the moment. Which brings me back to The Scarlet Kimono. Let me give you the blurb:-

Abducted by a Samurai warlord in 17th-century Japan – what happens when fear turns to love?

England, 1611, and young Hannah Marston envies her brother’s adventurous life. But when she stows away on his merchant ship, her powers of endurance are stretched to their limit. Then they reach Japan and all her suffering seems worthwhile – until she is abducted by Taro Kumashiro’s warriors.

In the far north of the country, warlord Kumashiro is waiting to see the girl who he has been warned about by a seer. When at last they meet, it’s a clash of cultures and wills, but they’re also fighting an instant attraction to each other.

With her brother desperate to find her and the jealous Lady Reiko equally desperate to kill her, Hannah faces the greatest adventure of her life. And Kumashiro has to choose between love and honour …

The Scarlet Kimono is published by Choc Lit on 1st March, ISBN 978-1-906931-29-2

(For more details and an extract, please go to www.choc-lit.co.uk ) If you’d like to win a signed copy of the book, please leave a comment below and tell me what is your favourite season and why? (Debs: I'm half way through this fabulous book. You're immediately transported back to 17th century Japan and even though I've never visited Japan - although Rob tells me it's amazing and loves it - everything in this book is so beautifully depicted that I feel I know it and the characters well).

Thanks again for having me! (Debs: Thanks for visiting and bringing your adorable dog).

(If anyone would like to know more about me, my website and blog are at www.christinacourtenay.com and I also regularly blog in the Choc Lit Authors’ Corner at www.blog.choc-lit.co.uk )

Guest Blogger (him, not me)

The Grumpy One is this weeks guest over at Dino's and Spike's Guest Page.

Dino is Anthony Molyneux's (@LordFerrister) gorgeous Rhodesian Ridgeback and each week he invites a guest over to his blog. This week Dino and his friend Spike have welcomed Grumps to their page. I'm not quite sure when he trotted over there, but I presume it must have been when I was rummaging around in the kitchen cupboard for yet another Alpen strawberry and yogurt bar.

Please go here to see what Grumps has to say.

Shed of the Year 2011 Competition

I've just finished uploading a couple of new pictures (with the help of Uncle Wilco, organizer of the competition). Some of you may remember I was a category winner in 2009, and was therefore automatically entered in to last year's competition, but being a little (okay, a lot) switched off, I didn't realize this until voting had almost ended and pretty much missed most of the fun involved in taking part.

This year I'm a little more on the ball (thanks to a reminder email...) and as The Plotting Shed aka Grumpy's Palace has had a bit of a makeover since 2009 and the inside of the shed has seen a few changes, notably the arrival of my tatty, but much beloved, pink Lloyd Loom chair, I thought I'd update the photos.

So, although the public voting doesn't start until 17th May (don't worry, I'll remind you closer to the time) I thought I'd add a link to the site where you can see a few more pictures.

The judges include Sarah Beeny, Simon Mayo, Gordon Thorburn, with the winner receiving £1,000 and various other prizes. If you have a shed you may also want to enter one of the categories for this competition. I've entered mine in the Garden Office Category, however there are others, including Eco Shed, Cabin/Summerhouse, Tardis, Pub Shed, Workshop/Studio, Normal Shed, etc. The link to enter is here. You can find out more by following Shedblog.co.uk or following @unclewilco on Twitter.

The Cake Tree

This was the Cake Tree a month ago when we had snow. The children called this tree, the Cake Tree, because when Rob put lights around it at Christmas time, or to help light the garden whenever we have a summer party, it looks a bit like a cake.

Unfortunately, the tree is very close to a neighbour's wall and over the years, the back has been trimmed repeatedly so that it didn't overhand her driveway. Subsequently, the tree was heavier at the front than the back and a nasty crack appeared in the wall. We came to the conclusion that the Cake Tree had to come down.


This was the Cake Tree on Thursday. Now, instead of all that green fir, we have a large gap where it used to stand and our tree has been replaced by a huge pile of logs for the fire and mulch for the garden, which I'm supposed to be helping distribute to the flowerbeds right now...

The youngsters are sad, as am I, but Rob and I have bought a new tree to replace the old one. Sadly, the new tree is not much more than a 10 foot stick with a few spindly branches. I'm told it'll grow quickly. Here's hoping...

Please Don't Stop the Music - Guest Blog with Jane Lovering

Firstly I have to say a big ‘thank you’ to Debs for allowing me into the shed today, although the Lloyd Loom chair is not quite equal to both of us and I have had to stand in the doorway. It’s very nice to be here, and the cup of tea and Nice biscuit were most welcome.

Ow. Hold on, got myself hooked on the door handle. Think I might have spilled some tea on Grumpy, sorry.

Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I’m here, covered in tea stains, to tell you about my latest novel from Choc Lit, ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’. But first of all, to whet your appetites, here’s the blurb.

‘How much can you hide?
Jemima Hutton is determined to build a successful new life and keep her past a dark secret. Trouble is, her jewellery business looks set to fail - until enigmatic Ben Davies offers to stock her handmade belt buckles in his guitar shop and things start looking up, on all fronts. But Ben has secrets too. When Jemima finds out he used to be the front man of hugely successful Indie rock band Willow Down, she wants to know more. Why did he desert the band on their US tour? Why is he now a semi-recluse?
And the curiosity is mutual - which means that her own secret is no longer safe ...’

I know they say all writers fall in love with their heroes, and I am no exception. Well, Ben is gorgeous and troubled and poetic and all that, but he is also a touch on the unconventional side of good looking. Put it this way, he doesn’t have a face that looks like it’s been hewn straight from a quarry and he doesn’t have shoulders so wide that he has to turn sideways to go through doors. Because I have to admit a certain..ahem.. unconventional taste in men and this tends to rub off on my fictional heroes. Men in real life who suffer ...I mean, who are subject to my attentions, tend to be more on the slender and diffident side. Not for me the alpha male with the bruising kisses and the punishing gaze (always wondered about punishing gazes. Really long eye lashes that can whip you from nine yards or something?). No. My ideal man is a little bit more.... all right.

To give you a taster of my kind of hero, here are a few. Tony Robinson (yes, really). David Mitchell, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi. I hope you can find it in your hearts to understand.

And so, for a chance to win a copy of Please Don’t Stop the Music,
please leave a comment and confess...I mean, tell me about any of your more – shall we call them unusual heroes. I promise not to laugh. Come on, I told you about Tony Robinson....

Oh, and if anyone fancies meeting me in the flesh (and there’s quite a lot of flesh to meet), I shall be signing copies of Please Don’t Stop the Music at Waterstones in York, on Saturday 12th February,2-5pm and I would love to see you there! If you need an additional lure (apart from me, that is) there will be chocolates!

Please Don’t Stop the Music is published by Choc Lit Publishing on 01 February. Jane can be followed on Twitter @JaneLovering, or you can find her at www.janelovering.co.uk. And, usually, behind the fridge with a guilty expression and an empty box of Thorntons' chocolates.

Thanks to Jane for coming by my rather untidy shed and for writing such a fabulous book.

PS, I'm lucky enough to have read Please Don't Stop The Music and have reviewed it for Novelicious. Although I'll link to my review when it's posted, I have to tell you that this is a great book with an easy to fall for hero and definitely a book I'm sure you'll enjoy.

PPS The winner of the copy of Please Don't Stop The Music is Karen. Jane will be contacting you. Congratulations.

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you to Pauline Barclay for passing this gorgeous award on to me. I love Pauline's blog and also follow her on Twitter @paulinembarclay and was thrilled to receive this.

The rules are that I have to tell you seven things about myself and also pass this on to seven people.

So, let me think. Um... I've mentioned in the past that I write in a shed, can ride side-saddle, my father survived a plane crash and that when I was small I had three cats and called them all Smokey.

1) I used to be the only one of my siblings with darker hair - I know, who would have guessed I'm not a natural blonde - and believed my sister when she told me that I was adopted. Of course, having a wild imagination, I then went on to configure an entire scenario of where I'd really come from, until my mother insisted she'd actually given birth to me and put a stop to my fantasy world.

2) I've been trying to locate a photograph of my great grandfather for years. He died in 1922. My grandmother was an only child and her mother burnt all his photos. His family originate from Stroud, so my next step it to try and contact someone there who may be descended from his family. Not sure who.

3) Having insisted I wouldn't ever get used to an e-reader, I now have a Kindle and love it. I still prefer actual books though.

4) I like my job.

5) My uncle brought the Beatles over to Jersey in the 1960s, but hasn't kept any of the memorabilia.

6) I love New York City & Sorrento, but can't decide which I prefer.

7) I used to put on plays for the family at Christmas time with me getting all the best parts and my cousin Jane always playing 'the crowd scene'. She still talks to me too.

Now I have to pass this on to seven other versatile bloggers:

Talli Roland
Faye over at Summit Musings
Sue at Flowerpot Days
Debs at Bluestockingmum
DJ Kirkby
Kath at The Nut Press
Karen at Coming Down the Mountain: From Reclusive Writer to Published Author

Zen & the Art of Sleep

Here's yet another picture of my shadow! I didn't know this dog of mine could sleep so much. One of the things about this bug is that I seem to be either tired or asleep and whichever it is, Grumps is always lying next to me, usually snoring.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on my last post. My uncle is now out of Critical Care and although I think it may take a while, he seems to be on the mend, which is a huge relief. My mother seems fine too.

I haven't done any writing, although I have mulled through various scenes, ways to develope certain characters, so that's something and I've just finished Please Don't Stop The Music by Jane Lovering, which I've reviewed for Novelicious.*whispers* worth pre-ordering this book. Publish date 1st Feb.

I follow Sarah Duncan's excellent blog and subscribe to her daily blog posts. Here's the link to her blog if you don't already have it. Certainly worth checking out for any unpublished writers as there's so much useful information/advice about all aspects of writing.

I'll be spending the rest of the weekend taking it easy, mainly by sitting in front of the fire, as it's back to work on Monday. I'm looking forward to the final episode of Zen (Sunday 9pm). Rufus Sewell is watchable in everything he does, but I'm loving watching him play, Aurelio Zen, an honest detective in Rome. Even my son is watching this. I do hope they commission a further series as it's excellent.