Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Author Video - Jenny Colgan talks about Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe

We loved Jenny's Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe and absolutely can't wait to read this one, which is out on October 25th.

You can read the first chapter here.

Here's what Jenny had to say about the book:

I know, I know, you are going to look at this and say, 'What, don't be nuts, if anyone says the word 'Christmas' anywhere near me I am going to whack 'em', so I am going to duck quickly and say, I hope you had a lovely lovely summer – yes, okay, the weather was dodgy, but come on, weren't the Olympics amazing? I went from never watching any sport at all to watching tons of the stuff and pretending I knew loads about rowing. ANYWAY. I wonder if I'm too old to become a diving champion? Oh yes, probably. ANYWAY. I do have to let you know that there is a sequel coming out to Meet Me at the Cupcake Café and it is set around (whispers quietly) Christmas time. But don't worry, it's just when the book comes out, the real Christmas is AGES away, we have tons of time to get it all done. Totally.

Christmas at the Cupcake Café came about because I really wanted to revisit Issy, Austin, Pearl and all the gang and see what they were up to, and it was great fun to put together a whole bunch of new recipes just for that time of year (you may want to stock up on cinnamon). But don’t worry if you haven’t read Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, because this one totally stands alone. The publishers have also done a really beautiful job on it, so it's really gorgeous and shiny and will hopefully make a lovely gift, I keep running my fingers up the cover and saying 'ooh' (is that too much information?).

Review - Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

This book was buried in my TBR pile until last weekend when I was full of a cold and couldn't think of anything I'd rather do than snuggle up in bed with some Buttercup Syrup and a bit of Jenny Colgan.

What a brilliant, brilliant read this was. Truly. I think a lot of Jenny's earlier books are kind of 'Bam! Funny stuff! Bam, Bam! Someone trips over!' (which I love and will always love) but this was so much more considered and poignant. The writing was confident and sparkly and I felt instantly like this book was going to take good care of me. As a reviewer it becomes quite natural to read with a critical eye, always conscious of what you're going to put in your review, looking out for plot holes and wishy washy characters... This book would not let me do that; I couldn't help but relax into it and enjoy it in the same way I enjoyed books as a child - greedily and with utter joy.

It's been a while since I rooted for a character the way I rooted for Rosie Hopkins. She's a bit of an under-achiever, has an overgrown child for a boyfriend and is unsure of where she's headed but, in spite of that, she's positive and funny and scrappy.

While there was plenty of romance (lovely, brooding Stephen, dashing Moray and hot farm boy Jake were a pleasure to read) in the traditional sense, the main love story of this novel was between Rosie and her Great Aunt Lily. In many of my favourite romantic comedies, the two main characters are clearly made for each other but have to overcome internal and external conflicts to end up together. Jenny did this really well in Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams; I can't imagine anyone but plucky Rosie attempting to restore Lily back to health, and Lily was exactly what Rosie needed at that unsure point in her life. Some of the scenes between these two made me cry and plenty of them made me laugh. What a perfect pair they were!

I think there are plenty of other things about this book that I could point out in order to get across to you how marvellous it was (the 1940s story thread, Eddison and his mum, the sweet recipes to name a few), but you ought to find out for yourself. I feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend this to you regardless of what sub-genres or other authors of women's fiction you might be into. I simply cannot imagine anyone not loving this one to pieces.

10/10

(If you don't believe me check out the Amazon reviews!)

Novel News - Jenny Colgan Cupcake Cafe Sequel Announced!

Hurrah! The sequel will be called Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe and as far as I know is set to be released in October of this year.

I am most excited to revisit Issy and her delicious cakes! How about you?

Visit Jenny Colgan's Website

Our review of Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe

Jenny on twitter

 

Novelicious Chats To... Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan's latest novel is the delicious MEET ME AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE. 

1. Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?

 Yes, it’s quite regimented. We live in France because that’s where my husband works. We’re up, get my two boys to school, then hand over the baby to  a nice lady who comes round and does the housework and looks after her, then I go for a run along the beach near where we live, shower, change, write one project (normally an alternative writing pitch) from about 10.30 to 11.30 then go to my local coffee shop, have a coffee and a pain au chocolat and write my current novel till about 1pm. I’ll write 2000 words of it, usually. If I have time before my help leaves at 1.30 I try to do my piano practice. Then in the afternoon I hang out with the baby, shop, cook supper, see friends etc till it’s time to pick up the boys at 16.30; they often bring friends home to play in the garden. Supper is ideally outside when my husband gets home, quite early, then kids to bed by 7.30, some box set telly for us, then I like to read for an hour or so in the bath then we go REALLY early to bed- 9.30 is not unusual for us at all!

 

2. When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?

 Sometimes I do, usually for the men if I am looking for a particular type of romantic hero; someone boy bandish, or a kind of science geek or someone like that. For Do You Remember the First Time, Justin Timberlake was just getting famous whilst I was writing it, so I made the young hero quite a lot like him.  Sometimes you see a picture in the paper of someone who looks just like the person you’ve imagined in your head; that’s always really weird.

 

3. What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?

 That’s a hard question to answer. If you mean any novel written by a woman I suppose it would be something like The Fortunes of War, which I love like a bunch of friends I actually know, or Middlemarch. If you mean more ‘chick-litty’, then like a lot of people I adored I Don’t Know How She Does It, and The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic.

 

4. What is your writing process? Do you plan first of dive in? How many drafts do you do?

 I don’t plan, it always changes. I get on with it, then rewrite it as many times as I have to. I hate rewrites, but they are so necessary to get where you want to be. And my editor is brilliant, which always helps. Whatever she suggests is nearly always right.

 5. What was journey to being a published author?

 Everyone’s journey is different. My masterplan was to fail at almost everything else- sketch writing, stand up, poetry, cartooning, children’s books- then when I wrote the novel it got picked up and sold very quickly- I was taken on by the second agent I wrote to- but I had had a million people say no to me about other things first. My real fantasy was always to be Charles Schultz.

Review - Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

 
Ever dreamed of start ing over? Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a c  hildhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she's made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own cafe. It should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. As her friends point out, she has trouble remembering where she left her house keys, let alone trying to run her own business. But Issy is determined. Armed with recipes posted to her from Grampa, and with her local bank manager fighting her corner, Issy attempts to prove everyone wrong. Following your dreams is never easy and this is no exception. Can Issy do it?

I love me some Colgan. So when I got a copy of Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe in the post I was very giddy about it. I'm usually quite good about reading books in the order that I receive them, but this one jumped straight to the top of my TBR pile (I wouldn't be a very good fan-girl if I exhibited some control and waited patiently until I had finished my other books before I read it) and was gobbled up over the space of two very pleasant days.

Jenny Colgan's Top 5 Writing Tips

 First off the bat, can I say how sorry I am that these are so short and terse. I realise that it’s disappointing and that lots of people think that if they have the right pencil and the right notepad everything will fall into place with their writing, or that there’s some great secret out there to writing a book that people have stumbled on.

 If there were a computer programme that could help, or real insider’s tips, I promise I would pass them on, but after over a decade in the business, these are the only things I have ever seen that are indubitably the way it works. Of course, it comes with the caveat that no-one should ignore the maxim, ‘the harder I work, the luckier I get’.

 

1.     Read a lot

2.     Write a lot

3.     Repeat steps 1 to 3 as necessary

4.     Get lucky

5.     Stay lucky

 

I have never known a successful writer that isn’t also a complete bookworm.

 But the other thing I would say is there is no reason on earth you can’t make it. Everything you needed to know about writing a story you learned in primary school. Books have very little to do with who your parents are or where you went to school, and everything to do with whether you have a story in you that can connect with other people. There is absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t be you, none at all, and never ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Good luck, Jen. xxxxx

  Jenny Colgan's latest book is MEET ME AT THE CUPCAKE CAFE.

Jenny Colgan on Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe

I've just finished this book and it was DELIGHTFUL (review coming soon). Saw this video and thought you might like it.

*spends rest of day dreaming about cake*

 

Novel News - Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

This is probably the book I'm most looking forward to reading in 2011. Not only is it written by my fave - Jenny Colgan, but it's about cakes. Plus the cover is just gorgeous.

This book will be released on the 14th April 2011 and the blurb reads;

Ever dreamed of starting over? Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she's made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own cafe. It should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. As her friends point out, she has trouble remembering where she left her house keys, let alone trying to run her own business. But Issy is determined. Armed with recipes posted to her from Grampa, and with her local bank manager fighting her corner, Issy attempts to prove everyone wrong. Following your dreams is never easy and this is no exception. Can Issy do it?

Visit Jenny Colgan's Website

Find out more about Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe

Novel News - Jenny Colgan's The Good The Bad and The Dumped Synopsis!

Jenny Colgan's new novel 'The Good, the Bad and the Dumped' will be out in April of 2010 (hurrah!)

The Amazon blurb reads

Posy is delighted when Matt proposes - on top of a mountain, in a gale, in full-on romantic mode. But the next morning disaster strikes: he backs out of the engagement. Crushed and humiliated, Posy starts thinking. Why has her love life always, always ended in total disaster? Determined to discover how she got to this point, Posy resolves to track down her exes ...Is there hope for Matt, or will she fall back in love with an old flame? What about Lord Voldemort, the old boyfriend that cannot be named? And could Posy face up to the idea that, actually, one day she could live life on her own terms?

This will definitley be a must read for me - I've NEVER been disappointed with any of her books :)

Classic Chick Lit - Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan

It's no secret that I'm a massive Jenny Colgan fan, and her debut novel ' Amanda's Wedding', published back in 2000, is a real classic.

90s girl-about-town Mel is adjusting to life without posh-boy Alex, whose attempts to make it big in the music biz have propelled him to the land of the free and Bruce Springsteen. Having omitted to mention his grand tour to Mel however, he has left our heroine a tad disturbed--grounds indeed for taking comfort in the arms of smelly, over-sized accountants with juvenile tendencies. Alex's emotional return coincides with the news that Mel's old "friend" Amanda, social-climber pas excellent (sic), has succeeded in getting herself hitched to Scottish laird Fraser for whom Mel has long harboured feelings of an X-rated nature. Before long, Fraser's brother Angus and Mel's friend Fran--an evil-mouthed, scary, man-hater--join forces in an attempt to rescue the scruffy Scot from the talons of the wannabe "It" girl, whose only interests lie in a double-barrelled aristo title and an ancestral pile.

This was the first chick lit book in which I felt I could truly relate to the characters. The protaganist of Mel isn't just a dull, 'nice' girl to whom something bad happens. She's self deprecating, sometimes sarcastic and has a bit of 'oomph' about her.

This book has it all. Wit, an excellent plot, emotion, and lots of gorgeous Scottish Men. As soon as I read it, I became a confirmed Colgan fan. I would completely recommend it to those of you who have not yet read it. It will have you laughing out loud by the end of the first page.

Rating 5/5

Buy this book here  (and if you don't believe me,just look at all the great reviews!)

Novelicious Adores... Jenny Colgan

Jenny's Bio:

Born in Ayrshire in 1972, Jenny Colgan worked in the health service for six years after graduating from Edinburgh University, moonlighting as a cartoonist and stand-up comic.Her first novel, Amanda's Wedding, published in 1999, was an instant bestseller, and has been followed by many more romantic comedies, including; Talking to Addison, Looking for Andrew McCarthy, West End Girls, Operation Sunshine, Do you Remember the First Time, Working Wonders, and Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend. He new novel will be called The Good, The Bad and The Dumped!

Why Jenny is Adored:

The girl is crazy funny. Seriously. Her books have a very real, dry, fearless humour, which makes me want to read them over and over again. Talking to Addison is perhaps my favourite romantic comedy novel purely for the whole party scene and the dancing James', a scene that is comedy gold and executed perfectly!

If you haven't read Jenny Colgan's work, I would urge you to pick one up as soon as possible (Amanda's Wedding is probably a good place to start) and be prepared to laugh out loud a lot. Beware, though. You may develop a bit of a girl crush on her.

To visit Jenny's Site click here!

Novel News - Jenny Colgan and Alexandra Potter's New Book Titles Revealed!

The hilarious Jenny Colgan's next book, which is set to be released in April of next year will be called... 'THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DUMPED'. There is no synopsis or cover available yet, but I will post em' as soon as I can!

 

 I also read on the website of Alexandra Potter, that she is working on a new book called...'THE ONE', although her publishers haven't officially confirmed it as the title...

In her own words the book is...

a romantic comedy about everyone’s desire to find their true soulmate, and what happens when you do... Set in New York, London, San Francisco and Venice, Italy, it’s scheduled to be published in the UK in June 2010.

It sounds brill, but such a long time to go!!

Author Video - Jenny Colgan chats about her Working Day!

How nice is she? And how adorable is her baby?!