Hi
This month has been full of books in various ways. I took part in the Coventry Festival of Books – see above – in the scorching heat, but I survived and had the best time meeting new readers and readers who are already in love with the Iceland series and keen to try Norway. In fact, The Island in Bramble Bay was the star of that event, selling way more copies than anything else. It’s often overlooked because it’s a standalone story, but it’s well-loved by those who’ve read it, and is a great choice for a summer read.
Book events are a new thing for me this year, but I have to say I absolutely love them. It’s wonderful to chat to people about what books they read and maybe help them choose which of mine they might like best. And it’s always great to hang out with other authors.
A couple of weeks after that, my daughter and I went to London for the day and went to Saucy Books in Notting Hill and Main Character Books in Spitalfields, both brilliant bookshops with very friendly staff who can’t wait to talk to you about books! I love browsing a bookshop to choose my next read and always come away with a TBR list to keep me going for months.
My best friend from school, Beth, came to visit with her family last weekend and we went to visit an ancient yew tree. As you can imagine it was probably the last thing her teenage daughters were interested in, but it was a lovely day for an excursion to a Herefordshire churchyard, even if we did gatecrash a wedding. The visit to Boots afterwards was the actual highlight of the day for them. I’d also dragged them to the lake the evening before which everyone enjoyed, especially because we picked up fish and chips on the way home. Isn’t it amazing when you have a friend you don’t see often enough but it’s like you saw each other yesterday?
Entwined in Norway
Entwined in Norway is finished and about to be edited. I am madly in love with Erik and Ida and I am sure you will love visiting the island in the height of a Norwegian summer to join them on their journey. It’s out on 1st September 2026. The ebook is available to pre-order now on Amazon and pre-orders for signed paperback are available on my website, see the link at the end of the newsletter. Thank you so much if you’ve already pre-ordered.
Here’s what you can look forward to…
Erik Anderson’s snowboarding career is over. Still recovering from the accident that took everything from him, he travels to Norway to find out for himself whether a family legend, passed down through generations, is true. It’s all he has left.
Ida Larsen gave up years of her life caring for her parents and now that they’re gone, she is struggling to find her place in the world. Feeling the pressure to stay in Bergen to help out her family, she takes a new job that keeps her close to home, working for her brother Mats in his newly opened luxury island hotel. It’s the safe option, but that’s what she needs right now. What she doesn’t need is a cross Canadian complaining about the hot water.
Whether it’s because of his Norwegian roots, or the magic of the fjords in the summer, Erik feels an immediate connection to the small island. And to Ida, the only person in months who has no patience for his moods and isn’t afraid to say so.
Over a stolen couple of weeks spent kayaking and hiking in the fjords they each find a new perspective on how to move on with their lives. But Erik still has to address the reason he came to Norway in the first place. And he and Ida may find they have to choose between loyalty to their families and what they’ve found in each other.
Pre-order on Amazon
Special Offer
The Croftwood books are currently on special offer on my website. The usual price for buying all four is £36 but until midnight on Sunday 2nd August it’s just £30. That’s four books for the price of three!
An Indie Author Recommendation
Throughout 2026 I’m collaborating with a group of Indie Romance authors and each month I’ll share one of their books! Kathy Strobos is a writing friend of mine based in New York. We met at a writing conference in 2019 and have disco-danced together on a semi-regular basis since.
Take one workaholic lawyer trying to make partner. Add a hot neighbor next door who makes her laugh. Is this a recipe for love or disaster?
When Audrey’s boyfriend mocks her dream to be a law firm partner, she breaks up with him. She is determined to prove him wrong, committed to working 24/7 to realize her dream, even when she’s not sure who she can trust in a world of shifting corporate alliances where playing “nice” may be a liability. But then Jake, a successful music marketing executive, moves in next door. Finding him attractive but way too sure of himself, Audrey plays a joke on him. Now he’s intrigued. Living life to the fullest, Jake tempts her with another life—a life where Audrey is not passing by New York City’s nightlife on her way home from work in a locked black sedan but experiencing it with Jake as her own personal guide. But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. He hasn’t fully forgiven his father for being a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family. Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. But how long, in fact, will she be able to balance it all? And if making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
Reading and watching
Last month I told you I was reading Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter. I loved it!! It was a great non-spicy love story, slow-burn and just a great story with characters you could really get behind. I’ve already bought another book by the same author which I haven’t started yet. I’ve been reading The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard which is quite a few years old, and set in the late 1930s. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It follows the Cazalet family over two summers and across generations and is a very witty read. I have no idea how big the book is because I’m reading it on my Kindle but it seems never-ending. But when it’s a good book I don’t mind that. both of these books were recommended to me.
Do you have a book you’d always recommend? I’d love to expand my TBR and I’ll share any suggestions in my Facebook group.
We’re heavily into watching the second season of Ransom Canyon, a small-town romance which I think is set somewhere in Texas. It’s brilliant and since I’ve been busy editing, it’s the perfect escapism for an hour of TV before bedtime.
Next month is going to be exciting, just before the launch of the new book. And there will be new Iceland book news so stay tuned…
Until then, happy reading!
Victoria
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