I’m pleased to welcome Eliza J Scott to my blog today. I’ve been lucky enough to meet Eliza several times now – usually over cake or cheese scones – and she’s become a friend, so I was delighted when she agreed to take part in my book talk feature. Welcome, Eliza. Can you start by telling our readers a bit about yourself please.

 

 

Hi Sharon, thank you so much for having me on your blog. I’m thrilled to be taking part in Book Talk With… Just to give your readers a little bit of information about myself, I’m an indie author and I write contemporary romance. I’ve been a KDP Allstar several times and still have to pinch myself that I get to do a job I love. I’ve published ten books so far, and currently have three series on the go all of which are set in and around North Yorkshire. They are:

Life on the Moors

Heartshaped

Welcome to Micklewick Bay

 

And very popular books they are, too! I know you’re a real book lover, but what’s the first book you remember reading or owning?

Apart from a cloth book that made an entertaining sound, the first proper reading books I can remember owning were by Enid Blyton. I adored The Faraway Tree trilogy and read them many times over. I can recall desperately wanting to live in one of the little houses in the Faraway Tree and have Silky and Moonface as my neighbours! Come to think of it, I still find that quite appealing…

 

Another fan of Enid Blyton! I think most of us started our reading journey in her capable hands. What’s your favourite childhood book and why?

I’m torn between Tom’s Midnight Garden and The Secret Garden as they’re both such wonderful books that stayed with me a long time after I’d first read them. I was lucky enough to enjoy them again when I read them to my daughters as bedtime stories. Now that was a real treat! I’m pleased to say both my girls love the stories as much as I do.

 

 

I loved both those books, but I will profess a preference for Tom’s Midnight Garden, which really gripped me when I was a small child. I think it was possibly the first supernatural book I ever read, and I can remember the goosepimples I got when I realised the truth at the end, and how emotional it made me feel. It’s stayed with me all these years, which says a lot about it. Do you read genres apart from the one you write in?

Yes, I love historical fiction with some of my favourite authors being Clare Marchant, Phillipa Gregory and CJ Sansom.

 

Which author/s had the biggest influence on you?

That would have to be Emily Bronte. Wuthering Heights is my favourite book of all time. It’s utterly breathtaking.

 

 

It’s definitely a powerful book. So, do you read books more than once?

I certainly used to before the dreaded pandemic which seems to have messed with my concentration and slowed my reading right down. I’ve been trying to play catch-up and work through my TBR pile before I go on to reread any of my favourites.

 

I think many of us have the same problem. I’m only just coming out of a reading slump myself. My concentration definitely suffered after covid. Do you prefer hardback, paperback, e-book, audio, or no preference?

I have no preference as far as physical books are concerned and I tend to save my e-books for reading at bedtime. As for audio, I’m a little late to the party with that and haven’t sampled any yet. Shocking, I know!  A friend of mine swears by audiobooks for when she’s gardening, but my mind tends to wander to my latest WIP and I end up doing a spot of valuable plot-wrangling while I tackle the weeds (of which there are many!).

 

I struggle with audio too. It’s absolutely no reflection on the books, but I do tend to fall asleep when I’m listening to them, and like you I find pottering time is best for untangling my own works in progress! I do want to persevere though. I just need to find a way to stay awake! Do you read series, or do you prefer standalones?

I can honestly say I have no preference, though I do consider it a bonus if a favourite author has a series.

 

Yes, that joyful moment when you close a book you love and discover there’s more to come! What’s your current read?

I generally have a paperback and an e-book on the go at the same time. The paperback for when I’m having my breakfast/lunch/break during the day and the e-book for when I’m snuggled up in bed. My current paperback is One Moonlit Night by Rachel Hore which is very atmospheric and I’m really enjoying it. My current Kindle read is Healing Hearts at Bumble Bee Barn by the fabulous Jessica Redland which is in her usual heartwarming style and I’m loving it.

 

You’ve got a pretty heartwarming style of writing yourself, Eliza, so tell us, what’s your work-in-progress about?

It will be book 2 in my Welcome to Micklewick Bay series which focuses on a group of five friends (book 1, The Little Bookshop by the Sea was Florrie’s story and published last year). This time it’s Maggie Marsay’s turn. She lives at the quaint Cliff Top Cottage perched high on Thorncliffe with her husband Bear whom she adores. Without giving too much away all I can say is that Maggie, who has a thriving business designing and making teddy bears from recycled luxury wool, has an exciting secret for which she’s been making plans to share. Her life really couldn’t be any happier, until someone from her past arrives out of the blue and turns her world upside down… Sorry, but I daren’t share any more details!

I’ve enjoyed visiting lots of the beautiful towns and villages that line the North Yorkshire Coast and serve as inspiration for my Micklewick Bay series. And no trip would be complete without sampling a portion of delicious fish and chips or indulging in a yummy ice cream or two. Purely in the name of research, of course!

 

I’m really looking forward to catching up with the residents of Micklewick Bay. I loved The Little Bookshop by the Sea. What’s next for you, Eliza?

Next is book 3 in the series, which is Jasmine’s story. This one will be the first Christmas book in the series. I’m hoping to squeeze in some time to work on my new website which seems to have been taking me forever to get ready. I’m also hoping to have another festive Life On the Moors book out by the end of the year too. Oh, and I’ve got a new series planned which is set in the fictional town of Middleton-le-Moors (it gets mentioned quite a lot in the Life On the Moors series). I suppose I’d better get cracking!

 

Crikey, you really are going to be busy! I’d better let you get on with it. Thanks for your time, Eliza.

Huge thanks again for having me on your blog, Sharon. I’ve really enjoyed answering your questions.

 

 

Eliza lives in the North Yorkshire countryside with her family. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found with her nose in a book/glued to her Kindle or working in her garden , fighting a losing battle against the weeds.

Eliza is inspired by her beautiful surroundings and loves to write heartwarming contemporary romance stories with relatable female characters. Her books will always have a happy ending.

If you’d like to know more about Eliza, visit her website.

You can also follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Find her books on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

 

Welcome to Micklewick Bay series

 

If you haven’t read the first in the series, The Little Bookshop by the Sea, it’s not too late to catch up before Book 2 is published! Heidi Swain named it her ‘Book of the Month’ last June and author Kim Nash, aka Kim the Bookworm, loved it and recommended it to her reading club.

 

 

Welcome to the Happy Hartes Bookshop in Micklewick Bay on the beautiful North Yorkshire Coast!

The Happy Hartes Bookshop has been a part of bookworm Florrie Appleton’s life as far back as she can remember. From the evocative smell of the books that line the shelves, to working alongside her beloved Mr H and his black Labrador, Gerty, there’s no wonder she calls it her happy place.

Living in a town she loves, with her family and group of close-knit friends nearby, life is sweet. Until one dreadful Monday morning, when everything is turned upside down and things are changed forever.

Devastated, Florrie finds herself thrown into an unexpected situation with handsome stranger, Ed Harte, owner of a pair of twinkly navy-blue eyes and a smile that has the knack of making mischief with her insides.

Despite being fresh out of a relationship, Florrie quickly finds herself falling for him, but she’s torn, reluctant to give her heart to someone who seems intent on not sticking around.

While her heart’s doing battle with her head, Florrie soon finds herself privy to a secret with Ed involving a heart-wrenching twist they could never have imagined.

Will love find a way to bring them together, or are they destined to go their separate ways?