Tishylou's World

The ever wonderful Belinda Jones has some exciting news! Her books are getting GORGEOUS new covers! Three of them have been given new titles too. Summer in Greece is Out of the Blue Dancing Girls is Living La Vida Loca Hollywood Calling California Dreamers (Don't worry, the UK ebooks will still have the same titles). Belinda has also offered to send one of you Lovely lot a postcard featuring one of the fab new covers, complete with a California post mark! All you have to do is leave a blog comment telling me which is your favourite Belinda Jones book and why and I'll choose a winner at random on Friday 23rd. 

Well, here we are. A week and a half into the new year. Are you all sticking to your resolutions? I am, so far. I decided that I want to be more Sparkly. That to me, means happier, nicer, more kind and caring. It means feeling good about myself and my choices. It means feeling free to love and laugh. Over the years I have lost my giggle. That was one thing my Mum told me in a letter she wrote me before she died. Never stop giggling. And I'm sad to say I did stop. People have noticed, family and friends have commented on it. My fiancé has mentioned it more than once and it was starting to cause problems. I got quite depressed and struggled on a daily basis. Books were kind of a saving grace as was Twitter. But the real world and my REAL life were shut out. So, this year I have decided to change all of that. 2015 is my year of laughing, loving, travelling, working, smiling, playing and giggling. I will still read and review, but only the books I choose. No more blog tours unl...

Happy New Year! My first book completed in 2015 is the fabulous Bodie on the Road by Belinda Jones! The idea of a book written as a travel guide for a canine companion sounds kinda bonkers. But you know what? This is Belinda Jones we're talking about. Of course it's going to be brilliant! Bodie on the Road tells the story of how Belinda came to be Bodie's guardian (as was so wonderfully put in the book) and the journey they took getting to know each other. It's full of dog friendly places to visit, delicious sounding food and spectacular scenery as well as some brilliant characters they met along the way. Bodie is a real gem. It sounds like he healed Belinda's heart and made her feel complete. I totally get how a dog can do that. He's a sweet, good natured guy who loves nothing more than a tummy tickle or scrap of food. Belinda puts him in such a charming, human light that sometimes you forget he has 4 legs. He really is the ideal travelling companion! The...

Hello! I hope you've had a lovely Holiday period and got loads of lovely book-ish gifts! We had a very chilled out, relaxed time and spent some time with good friends. Right, down to business... It's time for the Top 10 Books of 2014 (in my opionion!) 10 - The No Kids Club by Talli Roland. This is a lovely story about the struggle to decide whether parenthood is right for you or not. It made me think, cry and laugh. 9 - The Teashop on the Corner by Milly Johnson. A warm and touching tale featuring a dreamy teashop, loveable characters and lots of cake! 8 - Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen. This book was so emotional and beautiful! Just wonderful! 7 - You Had Me At Merlot by Lisa Dickenson. Hilarious, sweet, sexy! This book was everything a summer read should be! Grab a glass of wine and enjoy! 6 - The Judas Scar by Amanda Jennings. This book broke me in to a million pieces! I sobbed so hard but was completely compelled to finish it. Gritty, gripping and emotional! ...

Welcome to my Stop on the Blog tour for The Stall of Second Chances by Dana Bate. What They Say: Sydney Strauss is obsessed with food. Not just with eating it - though she loves that too - but with writing about it as an aspiring cookery reporter. But food journalism jobs are more coveted than cupcakes, and so Sydney is stuck working for one of TV's biggest egomaniacs - until she's left scrambling for shifts at the local farmers' market. Selling muffins at the Wild Yeast Bakery is hardly going to make her the next Nigella. But soon Sydney is writing the market's weekly newsletter, and her quirky stories gain attention from a prominent food columnist. After years of being left on the shelf, she's even dating again. And then Sydney gets a shot at the story, one that could either make her career or burn it to a cinder - along with her relationship and her reputation . . . What I Say: I've never read any of Dana's books before so I was quite exci...

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for On Strike For Christmas by Sheila Roberts! What They Say: At Christmas time, it seems as though a woman's work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping - bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday filled with parties, decorations, and presents - well, they'll just have to do it themselves. The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together. What I Say: I have never read a book by Sheila Roberts before so I was quite intrigued when I was asked to participate in this blog tour. The book arrived and it was beautiful so I was exci...

What They Say: Meet Britain's Worst Innkeeper Single mother and extremely undomestic goddess, Lottie, has five days to become the ultimate B&B hostess to save her beloved Aunt Kate’s livelihood. When Aunt Kate ends up in the hospital, Lottie and her seven-year-old daughter are called to rural Wales to stand in at the B&B. Without the faintest idea how to run a hotel (she can barely run her own life), Lottie must impress the picky hotel reviewer and his dysfunctional family who are coming to stay over Christmas. Without the rating only he can bestow, Aunt Kate will lose her livelihood. But will Danny, the local taxi driver who she hires to help her, really be Santa’s little helper, or the Grinch who stole Christmas? What I Say: I am loving all the Christmas novellas out this year and Christmas at The Falling Down Guesthouse is no exception! Lottie is just an awesome character! I loved her so much! She's so normal and relatable that I instantly liked her....

Blog Tour: Three Little Birds - Carol E Wyer + Giveaway! Fantastically fun author Carol E Wyer is flying high at the moment,  as her latest release Three Little Birds soars into the ether to land at various different blogs over the coming weeks. There will be reviews, guest posts and giveaways along the way, and this life-affirming read is sure to set your heart a-flutter!   What they say:  'If your friend challenged you, would you dare? Charlie Blundell cannot get over the tragic death of her only daughter. She drifts between her job at the Art cafe and her hospital radio show, the only things which give her life purpose. Her best friend, the madcap Mercedes, cajoles Charlie into writing a 'carpe diem' list, but then swaps Charlie's list with her own. Now, each must complete the other's challenges, and the outcomes will astound both of them. The challenges begin as a series of relatively harmless, fun activities. Soon, though, the stakes increase w...

  As always, I was thrilled to learn that my festive favourite Scarlett Bailey has a new Christmas book out! Eager to learn what was in store for the wonderful folks in Poldore, I dived in straight away!   What They Say:   A self-confessed Christmas queen, Sue Montaigne prides herself on organising the annual nativity pageant in her small Cornish village of Poldore. But this year, what with having to deal with the repairs on Castle House after it was wrecked by a terrible storm, training a new – and frankly flighty – Virgin Mary and managing a Joseph who is allergic to sheep, she is distinctly lacking a little bit of ‘me time’. And then there are the auditions for the new Santa. But nothing prepares her for the beautiful man who turns up, a twinkle in his eye and a promise to make her Christmas dreams come true… What I Say: Scarlett has never let me down! Her books are always perfection. This is a bite sized treat, ideal for snuggling up with a hot c...

Hello! I know it's been weeks (maybe even months) since I've blogged about our adventure but I have good reason for being absent. WE BOUGHT A BUS!! A few weeks ago we finally took the plunge and bought the bus we've been talking about buying for ages. It arrived 2 and a half weeks ago and we moved in straight away. It's huge. It's literally a 40 foot coach, think National Express size.    Things didn't go smoothly with YOLO's delivery. It was based in Chesterfield and was supposed to be delivered to us by a transport company on Tuesday. It was quite late on when they picked it up, so it was then going to spend the night at their Manchester depot and be brought to us Wednesday morning. Until we got a phone call on Tuesday night saying it had broken down, was pouring steam out and wouldn't restart. The decision was made that it would be towed to the depot overnight and then towed to us the next morning. So, YOLO arrived, late and on the back of a b...