GuestPost WAITING FOR OUR RAINBOW by VICTORIA CORNWALL #PublicationDay @ChocLituk @VickieCornwall

An absolute delight to welcome the lovely VICTORIA CORNWALL to the Blog today, to share her thoughts on Publication Day of WAITING FOR OUR RAINBOW!  All the details to get hold of your copy are down below!!

Over to you Victoria….

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PUBLICATION DAY: Waiting for Our Rainbow by Victoria Cornwall

Thank you for having me on Books & Me blog, Karen. It’s lovely to be here.

Waiting For Our Rainbow is my first WW2 romance. It was inspired by the memories of an elderly gentleman seeing American G.I.s for the first time when he was a boy. During a time of rationing, it was very exciting to see soldiers arriving in trucks and throwing sweets out the back for them to catch. ‘They were always friendly to us children,’ I remember him recalling fondly. In a time when paternal relationships were more distant due to either long working hours or war, these young men were different and often friendly. This experience left a lasting impression on the gentleman for the rest of his life.

I was always aware that an area of woodland near my home was once used to hide tanks during the war. I have always loved history and have a particular interest in WW1 and WW2, so one day I began to research this period in Cornwall’s past. Who were these young soldiers? Why were they in Cornwall? What did they do during their time here? Where did they go when they left Cornwall? And what happened to everything they left behind?

So many people have helped me with my research. American historians, written memoirs, conversations with people who were alive at the time, newsreels, archive footage of veterans being interviewed and news articles. I was also able to visit some of the places myself. Waiting For Our Rainbow wrote itself in a way, as everything the soldiers did during their preparations for D Day was well documented. Anne and Joe’s love story represents those who lived through this historic time, when people from different cultures built new relationships and even found love despite knowing they would ultimately have to say goodbye. Through my research I learnt many things about these young American men and their Cornish hosts. I came away realising that despite their differences, ultimately they realised they were stronger working together than holding on to what makes them different from one another. It’s a lesson that is as relevant today as it was back then.

Waiting For Our Rainbow will be released as an Ebook on 31st January, 2023. A paperback and audio version will follow shortly afterwards.

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About the book

Waiting For Our Rainbow is a WW2 romance between an American soldier and a young Cornish woman during the preparations for D Day.

Would you give your heart away if you knew it could only end in goodbye?

It should have been a time of romance and excitement for Anne – but it’s 1941 and the war is raging. So instead, she spends her days repairing spitfire wings and reminding herself that the real sacrifice is going on far away from her Cornish village.

When the news breaks that America has entered the war, it brings cautious hope to Anne and her family. And eventually, as the Jeeps filled with GIs roll in, it seems their little community is to play a pivotal role in the next stage of the fight.

But the Americans don’t just bring Hollywood glamour and optimism, they also bring something more tantalising – so when Anne meets handsome Joe Mallory, she has to remind herself of exactly why he’s there; that any relationship between them could only end in goodbye.

But is the inevitability of ‘goodbye’ powerful enough to stop what has already begun to blossom?

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Buying Links

 Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/3DgkIoY 

Amazon US: https://bit.ly/3XWu5lo 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/3Jp0E7L 

Nook: http://bit.ly/3Y6lSeJ

 iBooks: https://apple.co/3R7EpFb

 Google Play: https://bit.ly/3wE943a

About the Author

Victoria grew up on a farm in Cornwall and is married with two grown up children and three grandchildren. She likes to read and write historical romance with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

Her books have subsequently reached the finals of the NEW TALENT AWARD at the Festival of Romantic Fiction, the RNA’s JOAN HESSAYON AWARD, the 2021 RNA’s Goldsboro Books HISTORICAL ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARD. Her books have also been twice nominated for the RONE Best Indie or Small Published Book Award by InD’tale magazine.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Social media links

Website: www.victoriacornwall.com

Twitter: @VickieCornwall

Facebook: www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author

Instagram: www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3hTR1yuAwJUbFyj0k9P4eQ

Pinterest: uk.pinterest.com/vickiecornwall/

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#GUESTPOST DANIEL'S DAUGHTER by VICTORIA CORNWALL #PublicationDay @ChocLituk @VickieCornwall

Delighted to be able to share a guest post today from the lovely VICTORIA CORNWALL on publication day for DANIEL’S DAUGHTER! Go buy your copy now!! Links below!

Victoria Cornwall chats Cornish history and her new historical novel, Daniel’s Daughter

In each of the novels in my Cornish Tales series, I have tried to bring alive something of Cornwall, whether it is its smuggling history, the class divide on the grand estates, ancient traditions, myths and legends, or characters with the Cornish pragmatic sense of humour and wit. As a backdrop to each tale, I have used Cornwall’s unique landscape, whether it’s formed from nature’s beauty or its industrial past. In Daniel’s Daughter clay mining forms the backdrop to the events that play out and the hurdles the characters face as they strive for happiness.

Why clay I hear you ask? I must admit, clay would not inspire me to pick up an historical romance, so why should it for any other reader? Let me try to explain why I used this part of Cornwall’s history as a backdrop …

As a child growing up in Cornwall, I gave little thought to why one of our local cinemas was called White River. I also did not fully appreciate the history behind the triangular white hills and artificially bright turquoise lakes which I could see from my car window when I travelled to the south coast. They are all linked to the production of clay. It was only when I became an adult I discovered the significant role Cornwall played in the china clay industry … so significant that the clay produced was nicknamed ‘White Gold’. The industry expanded at an alarming rate and employed vast numbers of people. It would take a certain type of man to keep his business competitive in the cut-throat world that emerged. It would take a man like Talek Danning, the troubled hero in Daniel’s Daughter. However Talek’s world is a very different world to the one Grace Kellow, the heroine, grew up in, which is the untamed, natural beauty of Bodmin Moor. When Grace discovers the terrible family secret, she flees her home and finds herself in Talek’s world which is so alien to her. Each landscape reflects the main characters’ traits, one industrious, serious and cut-throat, the other wild, beautiful and open. These two opposite characters are brought together, and the story of their time together begins to unfold …

Today mid Cornwall is very different. Time has moved on and many of those peaks of clay spoil, nicknamed the Cornish Alps, have been camouflaged by re-sculpting and the growth of vegetation to attempt to blend the manmade hills into the landscape. However, if you look carefully you can still see them reaching for the sky, now silent witnesses to Cornwall’s industrial past.

Although this part of Cornwall’s history plays a significant role in the tale, Daniel’s Daughter is more about truth … discovering it, facing it, learning from it, accepting it. And it is also about the damage that can be done to trust and loyalty, when telling or hearing the truth becomes a problem.

Although there is still clay mining undertaken in Cornwall, it is now on a lesser scale. Today mid Cornwall is threaded with a network of paths, named the Clay Trails, where walkers, cyclists and horse riders can explore the manmade landscape, which now happily sits alongside the natural one (https://www.claytrails.co.uk/).

So if you ever find yourself in Cornwall, consider walking one of the many Clay Trail routes. I have walked some of them and it could be said that it is where Talek Danning’s character first made himself known to me. Did their characters live happily side by side as the two differing landscapes do today? You will just have to read Daniel’s Daughter to find out.

About the book:

Sometimes the truth is not easy to say and even harder to hear …

Cornwall, 1895

Grace Kellow is a young woman with a strong sense of who she is and where she comes from. As the daughter of a well-respected Cornish dairy owner Daniel Kellow, her existence in the village of Trehale is comfortable and peaceful.

But then handsome Talek Danning comes striding over Hel Tor, and soon after his arrival Grace is hit with a revelation that leaves her questioning her identity and her place in the Trehale community.In her hour of need, Talek and his sister Amelia offer Grace sanctuary but wherever Grace runs, her secret will follow …

About the author:

Victoria Cornwall grew up on a farm in Cornwall and can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century. It is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.

Victoria is married and has two grown up children. She likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Buying links: 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2vHmaRt 

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3boRFPl 

Apple Books: https://apple.co/2QEuEjv

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#BookReview Daughter of the House by Victoria Cornwall #PublicationDay

About the book

Evelyn Pendragon is spirited but lonely, and largely ignored by her parents whose attentions are taken up with her brother, Nicholas: the expected heir to the family’s Cornish estate and the one who will carry on the Pendragon name. 

Stifled by her aristocratic existence, Evelyn finds companionship in an unlikely place when she befriends Drake Vennor, an apprentice gardener on the estate.

But When Evelyn’s life is thrown into turmoil by a tragedy, she realises just how much she has come to rely on Drake. Will family expectations and the burden of the Pendragon name mean she must turn her back on him when she needs him the most?

Published  by   Choc Lit

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Apple Books

Kobo

Google Play Books

Nook

MY REVIEW

An enthralling story that encapsulates the struggles of a young woman growing up in a world where inequality is all around her, and trying to find a role for herself when her family are ignoring her in favour of their son and heir. I never really considered what it must have been like to have been born into a family and have so little importance placed upon your existence, but in this story the very spirited Evelyn is not one to take things lying down, and with a new friendship with the young apprentice gardener, Drake, she gains more confidence in herself and begins to find her way in the world despite the obstacles placed in her way.

The pressure of inheritance has caused splits in the family and with the health of young Nicholas in the balance, Evelyn is left facing up to a future she and her parents had never considered. Evelyn has been used to a caring governess while she grew up, but things change and under the care of her new tutor and family Doctor, she is now facing new battles that are quite shocking to read about but thankfully in Drake she has a wonderful support when she most needs it.

The story follows the families over a few years, and it is clear just how important the family name and bloodline was to people, despite the fact that it made the role of women so unimportant. It also brings to light the shameful way that women were treated and even diagnosed as having mental illness if they dared to stand up for themselves and speak their minds. With Evelyn, it really gives you a taste of what it was like for her growing up in a man’s world and how very little choice women had in affairs of the heart.

A stirring historical story full of engaging characters and guaranteed to make you feel a wide range of emotions!

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#BookReview A Daughter’s Christmas Wish by Victoria Cornwall #PublicationDay

About the book

A captivating new story from Victoria Cornwall, perfect for fans of books by Tracy Rees, Fiona Valpy and Dilly Court. 

A Cornish Christmas wish sent across the ocean … 

Christmas, Cornwall 1919 

A promise to a fellow soldier leads Nicholas to Cornwall for Christmas, and to the teashop managed by Rose; the youngest daughter of a family whose festive spirit has been blighted by their wartime experiences. But as Nicholas strives to give Rose the best Christmas she could wish for, he begins to question whether his efforts are to honour his friend, or whether there is another reason … 

Published by Choc Lit

Purchase Links

Amazon UK

Kobo

Google Play Books

Apple Books

MY REVIEW

I found this to be a beautiful Christmas read, full of hope and romance and shows the way that love can work in mysterious ways and how bringing people together isn’t always an easy task.

Nicholas made a promise to his friend Sam, a fellow soldier, to deliver a poem to his sweetheart, and when Nicholas is faced with the woman he has heard so much about, he finds it a little more difficult to complete the task.  Rose starts to notice this man hanging around her teashop a little too often, but soon finds comfort in his visits and begins to spend more time with him, and that helps her escape the reality of her own life which isn’t going so well, especially at home.  War has affected her family in more ways than one and working in the teashop allows her to be herself and try and put her life back together.

Nicholas has his own family issues on a much different scale, and it is fascinating to see how such different characters are dealing with such different problems.  He feels he knows Rose from spending so much time with Sam, and he starts to question his own reasons for being there and thinking of her all the time.

I really enjoyed the characters created in this story and it was also an intesting period in time to set a book – it shows how the war affected those who went, and those left behind.  An absorbing festive read!

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#BlogTour The Daughter of River Valley by Victoria Cornwall #BookReview

An absolute delight to be hosting the stop today for this wonderful book!  My thanks to the author, publisher and Rachel of  Rachel’s Random Resources for letting me be part of this Blog Tour!

Here is more information about the book and author, before my review!

The Daughter of River Valley

Beth Jago appears to have the idyllic life, she has a trade to earn a living and a cottage of her own in Cornwall’s beautiful River Valley. Yet appearances can be deceptive …

Beth has a secret. Since inheriting her isolated cottage she has been receiving threats, so when she finds a man in her home she acts on her instincts. One frying pan to the head and she has robbed the handsome stranger of his memory and almost killed him.

Brought together by unknown circumstances, and fearful he may die, she reluctantly nurses the intruder back to health. Yet can she trust the man with no name who has entered her life, or is he as dangerous as his nightmares suggest? As they learn to trust one another, the outside threats worsen. Are they linked to the man with no past? Or is the real danger still outside waiting … and watching them both?

Purchase Link

Amazon UK

About the Author

Victoria Cornwall can trace her Cornish roots as far back as the 18th century and it is this background and heritage which is the inspiration for her Cornish based novels.

Victoria’s writing has been shortlisted for the New Talent Award at the Festival of Romantic Fiction and her debut novel reached the final for the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Joan Hessayon Award.

Victoria likes to read and write historical fiction with a strong background story, but at its heart is the unmistakable emotion, even pain, of loving someone.

She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Social Media Links – 

Website: https://victoriacornwall.com/

Blog: https://victoriacornwall.com/news-blog-2/

Facebook (Author Page if you have one): https://www.facebook.com/victoriacornwall.author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickieCornwall

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16069968.Victoria_Cornwall

 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/vickiecornwall/

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_cornwallx/

 

MY REVIEW

I found this story to be such an engrossing historical romance, beautifully brought to life by the author with some striking settings and vivid descriptions. And in Beth Jago, a wonderful character who is strong, independent and stubborn in equal measures!

Since the death of her grandfather she has carried on living on her own in an isolated cottage in the River Valley. Happy to keep to herself, she gets the feeling she is being watched and has to take action when a strange man turns up at the cottage. Her actions lead to this stranger losing his memory, although she is unsure at first if he is making this up. But guilt, and a caring nature, gets the better of her and she takes responsibility to nurse him back to health and try to help him discover who he is, and what he was doing visiting the cottage in the first place.

She gives him the name ‘Luke’ and their relationship is an uneasy one from the start, despite having very similar traits! They are both very stubborn characters and reluctant to rely on others for help but as they spend time together they gain a greater understanding of each other. Luke begins to have flashbacks, and Beth hears his nightmares and it is enthralling to watch their story develop as they try and work out where he came from with just an engraved watch as a reference point as to an identity.

Beth is a proud woman and has thrived on the security of living at the cottage, but when that is threatened she begins to fear the worst and wonders if all her work at the cottage will be for nothing. She is determined to seek answers from the source of the letters she receives in the hope a compromise can be reached.

I loved Beth and Luke in this. Their stories weren’t straightforward and there were plenty of obstacles along the way for them both to navigate, and it became more than just a romance story with the added twists and turns along the way! Highly recommended!!

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#BookReview The Daughter of River Valley by Victoria Cornwall #publicationday

About the book

Cornwall, 1861

Beth Jago appears to have the idyllic life, she has a trade to earn a living and a cottage of her own in Cornwall’s beautiful River Valley. Yet appearances can be deceptive …

Beth has a secret. Since inheriting her isolated cottage she’s been receiving threats, so when she finds a man in her home she acts on her instincts. One frying pan to the head and she has robbed the handsome stranger of his memory and almost killed him.

Fearful he may die, she reluctantly nurses the intruder back to health. Yet can she trust the man with no name who has entered her life, or is he as dangerous as his nightmares suggest? As they learn to trust one another, the outside threats worsen. Are they linked to the man with no past? Or is the real danger still outside waiting … and watching them both?

Publisher  Choc Lit

Publication Date – 17th July 2018

Purchase Links

iBooks

Amazon UK

Kobo

Google Play

MY REVIEW

I found this story to be such an engrossing historical romance, beautifully brought to life by the author with some striking settings and vivid descriptions.  And in Beth Jago, a wonderful character who is strong, independent and stubborn in equal measures!

Since the death of her grandfather she has carried on living on her own in an isolated cottage in the River Valley. Happy to keep to herself, she gets the feeling she is being watched and has to take action when a strange man turns up at the cottage.  Her actions lead to this stranger losing his memory, although she is unsure at first if he is making this up.  But guilt, and a caring nature, gets the better of her and she takes responsibility to nurse him back to health and try to help him discover who he is, and what he was doing visiting the cottage in the first place.

She gives him the name ‘Luke’ and their relationship is an uneasy one from the start, despite having very similar traits!  They are both very stubborn characters and reluctant to rely on others for help but as they spend time together they gain a greater understanding of each other.  Luke begins to have flashbacks, and Beth hears his nightmares and it is enthralling to watch their story develop as they try and work out where he came from with just an engraved watch as a reference point as to an identity.

Beth is a  proud woman and has thrived on the security of living at the cottage, but when that is threatened she begins to fear the worst and wonders if all her work at the cottage will be for nothing.   She is determined to seek  answers from the source of the letters she receives in the hope a compromise can be reached.

I loved Beth and Luke in this.  Their stories weren’t straightforward and there were plenty of obstacles along the way for them both to navigate, and it became more than just a romance story with the added twists and turns along the way! Highly recommended!!

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