I’m a bit late writing this post because release day was actually a week ago on Thursday 12th March but I’ve been deep in my editing cave with the first book of my new series and only emerged on Monday afternoon after some very long hours (think 2.45am on Monday morning). I then had quite a bit of marking to catch up on for the day job and, since then, there might have been something going on in the news that’s kind of been distracting for everyone.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to say that the full ‘Welcome to Whitsborough Bay’ series – Coming Home to Seashell Cottage – is now available on all formats – eBook on all platforms, audio and paperback. If your local library has the uLibrary platform, then you can request the audio version via your library too. That’s lots of very exciting ways in which you can discover how the series ends.

Although book 2, New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms, will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first book I ever wrote, Coming Home to Seashell Cottage is my favourite book in the series. I absolutely love this story. Readers first meet Clare in book 2 and she’s a bit of a spiky character who’s very guarded about her past. In book 4, we find out why when Clare’s past catches up with her. It has lots of exciting twists and turns and I love that some readers have compared it to a mystery.

This book was originally released under the title of Dreaming About Daran and I was absolutely thrilled that it was crowned as the Chill With a Book Book of the Year 2019.

Here’s the blurb:

For Clare O’Connell, home is where the heart aches…

Since the age of sixteen, Clare O’Connell has lived her life by four strict rules:
1. Don’t talk about Ireland
2. Don’t think about Ireland
3. Don’t go to Ireland
4. Don’t let anyone in

And so far, it’s worked well. She’s got a great career, amazing friends, and she’s really happy. The future is all that counts, isn’t it?

However Clare is about to realise that you can run from the past, but you can’t always hide from it…

When her boss insists she travels to Ireland for work, Clare finds herself drawn back to the village of Ballykielty – the home of her family, and the home of her secrets. The one place where vowed never to return to again…

With the door to her past now wide open, the first three rules have gone out of the window. Will Clare stick to rule number four?

Can she be brave and face up to her family and the demons of her past?

An emotional novel of family, friendship and dealing with your past from top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland.

As with all the other re-releases in this series, this re-issue is mainly about tightening up elements and small adjustments here and there. The story and characters remain the same. The main change is that the cottage mentioned in the title features more prominently than it did before and it’s also changed its name. It was previously Smuggler’s View but we already had a property with the word ‘view’ in it in the series – Making Wishes at Bay View – so we needed to rename it but still keep a seaside theme, hence Seashell Cottage. I needed Clare to have more of a draw to it across the story and, as a result, there’s a new chapter and a couple of new scenes that any returning readers might enjoy.

My publishers, Boldwood Books organised a blog tour for me for the series which has been a lovely mix of extracts (written and audio) across books 2-4, a few reviews and several interviews. I’ve posted some links at the bottom of this post if anyone wants to delve into them.

There are currently some really good promotions on the books in the series. Book 2 and 3 are currently on a 99p promotion on Apple following book 1 being the free book of the week there last week. Although they’re meant to be £1.99 on Amazon, their algorithms tend to price-match with other providers so they’re also 99p on there. Books 1 and 4 are £1.99 on Apple and Kobo and 10p less on Amazon (bit random and not sure why).

As for paperbacks, these are £12.99 on Amazon (although they may be offering them at a slightly lower price) because they are print on demand. However, my wonderful publishers have made a very special arrangement with the printers when the paperbacks are ordered via a bookstore – £8.99 in line with other paperbacks from major publishers, which is exciting.

A huge thank you to everyone who has read the originals or the revised versions (or both – looking at you, Mum xx) and anyone who has bought/downloaded them ready to read/listen to.

My love and best wishes to you all as we face a difficult worldwide health and economic challenge. I’m a reader as well as a writer and I know I’m certainly going to be more grateful than ever for the escapism that reading gives me. I hope my books are able to bring some smiles, laughter and comfort to you.

Jessica xx

Blog Tour Links:

Chicks, Rogues and Scandals – Written extracts of books 2-4 and an original interview

Ginger Book Geek – Review of New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms

B for Book Review – Review of New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms, Review of Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove and Audio Extract of Coming Home to Seashell Cottage

Just Katherine – Written extracts of books 2-4 and an original interview

Being Anne – Written extracts of books 2-4 and reviews of the original books 1 and 2

Portobello Book Blog – Written extract of Finding Hope at Lighthouse Cove and reviews of the original books 2 and 4

Jorie Loves a Story – Audio extracts of books 2-4 and an original interview

Books, Life and Everything – An original interview