Category: Exciting News

The one where it’s publication day for Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn

Jessica Redland Author2 Comments

Happy publication day to me, happy publication day to me… Yay! I’m so thrilled that my first of four releases in 2023 is OUT NOW.

Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn is a brand new standalone story but, for fans of Hedgehog Hollow – and particularly those who were so disappointed about the series ending with book six last year – there’s are some special treats in store. The main character in this story is young farmer Barney Kinsella who is the brother of Fizz – one of the Hedgehog Hollow team. We therefore get to see Fizz again and a couple of the other characters from the rescue centre. It’s set a year later so readers get some insights into how things at Hedgehog Hollow have moved along since Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow. However, please do NOT be put off if you haven’t read the Hedgehog Hollow series because you don’t need to have for this book to make sense.

I say it’s a standalone book but there have been so many lovely comments in early reviews about how much readers would love it to be the start of a series. Yesterday, I pitched an idea to my editor for a sequel and she loved it. My releases for 2023 are already planned so it wouldn’t be out until 2024 if I do write one, but it’s looking good for a sequel at the moment. I’m not going to give any spoilers for what it would be about other than to reassure those who prefer standalone books that Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn is a complete story with no cliffhangers and any sequel will also be a complete story which could be read as a standalone too.

In my acknowledgements at the back of Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn, I talk about this being a difficult book to write. There were a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, I’ve been living with the concept of the story – a farmer entering a reality TV show to find love – for a couple of years, ever since Fizz first mentioned her brother in the Hedgehog Hollow books. I don’t like ‘brewing’ my stories for this long because my writing style is pantser, meaning I ‘fly by the seat of my pants’, letting the story unfold as it goes. Having a story develop in my head for so long goes against this and, when I started writing, the characters didn’t want to do what I’d planned for them so my first draft was a bit of a mess!

Secondly – and actually a much bigger issue – was the immense pressure I felt after the success of the Hedgehog Hollow series. I absolutely love this series and I’m so touched by the way readers have taken it to their hearts. It was incredibly flattering that readers didn’t want the series to end. Some readers expressed disappointment but also excitement for what was to come next, which was a huge relief, but others seemed genuinely annoyed with me and I feared losing them as readers. It would probably have been ‘safer’ to make my next book a Whitsborough Bay one as, even though there isn’t the same buzz about the Whitsborough Bay books as there is about the Hedgehog Hollow ones, they have been really popular too. In fact, although my best-seller so far is Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow, the next two best are Whitsborough Bay books – Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café followed by The Secret to Happiness. Barney’s story burned to be told, though, so I took that risk and I think it might have paid off. I’ve even had comments from early readers saying they didn’t think I could surpass Hedgehog Hollow… until they read Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn.

It’s actually one of my favourite stories out of the nineteen books I’ve written so far. (This is book eighteen but I’ve already finished the nineteenth one). I love the setting and the characters so much and writing it just gave me the warm and fuzzies.

When I first announced that it was included a reality TV show, some readers expressed surprise as that was a very different subject matter for me, but I’d like to think that all my books have something different about them. I’d say that my “thing” is my setting and this book has an amazing setting in Bumblebee Barn, but I need to mix it up as to how a story comes together and reality TV gave me another different scenario to explore. I know there’ll be readers out there who aren’t fans of reality TV, but please don’t let it put you off because that’s merely the scenario which brings the story together. I haven’t changed genre and written a romcom. This is still the type of book readers would expect from me – emotional but uplifting with a strong setting and relatable characters.

Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn embarks on a whopping blog tour this morning. With 16 days at 3 stops a day, this 48-review strong blog tour must be my biggest yet. A huge thank you to Rachel Gilbey from Rachel’s Random Resources for organising it on behalf of Boldwood Books and to all the wonderful bloggers/reviewers who have signed up. Thank you also to those who aren’t on the tour but will share their reviews independently. I’m excited to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn.

It’s out in ALL formats today – large print, hardback, paperback, audio, and all eBook formats. It was exciting to see it at #3 in the Apple Fiction & Literature chart first thing this morning (#17 in the overall paid chart).

The impact of pre-orders and on-the-day purchases on the Amazon and Audible charts won’t kick in until later today but Kindle Australia, being way ahead of us time-wise, is showing #143 in the overall chart already which is amazing. I don’t know if that will be the peak or if there’s one more rise in there. Go Australia! Thank you for your support!

Right, that’s enough from me for now. Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn in any format and to those who get their copy today. I hope you love your visit to the farm.

If you haven’t already dived in, here’s the blurb to hopefully whet your appetite and you can get it from Kindle UK here:

A brand new standalone novel from the bestselling author of the Hedgehog Hollow and Starfish Cafe series!

Welcome to Bumblebee Barn, home to wonderful animals, stunning views and spectacular sunsets – and resident young farmer, Barney.

While Barney loves his life at Bumblebee Barn – a farm that has been in his family for generations – he’s struggling to find someone to share it with. The early mornings quad biking through muddy fields and the long hours looking after the crops and animals are proving to be a deterrent to finding love.

So when his sister, Fizz – desperate for Barney to find his soulmate – sees an advert for Love on the Farm, a new reality TV show to help farmers find love, he has nothing to lose by applying. After all, he isn’t meeting anyone suitable down the traditional route and surely he won’t be picked anyway…?

Thrown into the chaos of reality TV, Barney could never have expected that his whole life would be turned upside down, with buried secrets to be uncovered and his heart on the line. With his family and friends rooting for him, could the magic of Bumblebee Barn heal his broken heart and help him find love on the farm?

Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a brand new standalone novel of love, family and second chances.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where the hedgehogs live next door to Matthew Perry

Jessica Redland AuthorLeave a comment

I’m a huge fan of the US TV show Friends. I’ve talked about it before on the blog and, even if you hadn’t read any posts mentioning it, you could probably guess from the structure of my blog headings as “The one where/when…” is the structure of the title of each Friends episode.

Chandler Bing played by Matthew Perry is my favourite ‘friend’ and something very special happened yesterday in the Amazon UK charts and I hadn’t even noticed it. My lovely editor, Nia, sent me an email with a screenshot pointing it out.

Yes, that’s the hedgehogs – Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow – right beside Matthew Perry’s autobiography Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. What a privilege to be living next door to Matthew Perry in the overall UK Kindle chart. Could I be any more excited?

Thank you to everyone who has bought Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow on the 99p offer this week, helping push it into the UK and Canada Kindle Top 50, Australia Kindle top 100 and just outside the Top 50 on Apple UK. This offer will probably continue until Christmas so plenty of time to grab the final book at the bargain price if you haven’t already done so.

Big hedge-hugs
Jessica xx

The one with the offers, the event, and the auction

Jessica Redland Author1 Comment

Good morning and welcome to a new week and a new season. It’s autumn! Yay! Autumn is my favourite month. I love the cooler weather, the changing colours, the mix of glorious sunshine and cool crisp days, and the approach of Christmas.

I have lots of news so I thought I’d pull it all together in one blog post so I’d better crack on with it…

THE OFFERS

There are some amazing price reductions on two of the eBooks in the Hedgehog Hollow series right now and some of these are available internationally but, as with any offer, there’s a limited time so do take advantage asap to avoid missing out.

Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow – book 1 in the series – is on the following offers for Kindle:

  • UK – 99p
  • Australia – $1.89
  • USA – $1.99

This book is also in Global Prime Reading so anyone participating in the Prime programme can access it for FREE. It just went in last week and will remain in Prime Reading for at least 12 weeks so we’re pretty much talking the rest of the year.

Chasing Dreams at Hedgehog Hollow – book 5 in the series – is on the following offers for Kindle:

  • UK – 99p
  • Australia – $1.89
  • Canada – $0.99

If you are on Kobo, Apple Books or any other eReader, please do check as I believe the Chasing Dreams offers will apply and the Finding Love ones may well too.

THE EVENT

Tonight (Monday 26th September), I have a Facebook Live with my fabulous editor Nia Beynon. To celebrate the release of Christmas Miracles at Hedgehog Hollow – the final book in the series – we’ll be talking all about the whole series and I’ll be reading from Christmas Miracles.

We have some questions lined up and would love to answer questions from readers who join us. The Live will start at 6pm GMT over on the Book and Tonic Facebook page. You can set yourself a notification here.

I really hope you can join us to celebrate the final release. If you’re unable to join us live, the link above will also take you to the video afterwards. If you can’t join in but you have a question you’d love me to answer in the Live, please DM me on my Jessica Redland Romance Author Facebook page before 5pm today and we’ll squeeze it in.

THE AUCTION

I’m delighted to be taking part in the Children in Read Auction again this year which raises money for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal 2022. You can find the full auction here where there are currently a whopping 517 lots of reading/writing-related prizes to suit all ages and tastes. New lots are being added all the time and the amount bid so far is already approaching £10,000.

I’ve submitted two lots. My first is lot 444 which is all about ‘first in a series’ and is available to UK bidders only. It can be found here. This is a really special lot because the successful bidder will win signed copies of the first book in each of my four series (listed below) and the opportunity to name a character in my fifth series which starts in the summer 2023.

The first in series books are:

  • Making Wishes at Bay View – book 1 in the Welcome to Whitsborough Bay series
  • Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop – book 1 in the Christmas on Castle Street series
  • Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café – book 1 in The Starfish Café series
  • Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow – book 1 in the Hedgehog Hollow series

The retail value of these books combined is just shy of £43 and it currently has 12 bids on it which have reached £39. As I say, the books will be signed but can be dedicated on request.

What I think will really appeal about this lot is the opportunity to name a character in my brand new series set in the Lake District, the first book of which will be out next summer. This will be an important character but not one of the main two characters as I’ve already named them. It can be a male or female character and a reader could see their name in the book, the name of a loved one or perhaps a name they’ve created. My only stipulations are that it needs to be pronounceable and sensible – no Character McCharacters, no swear words and no innuendos. I also can’t accept a character name I’ve already used for obvious reasons.

My second lot is lot 445 which can be found here. There are currently no bids on it – eek! – but hopefully that will change soon. This is a one-hour Zoom conversation with me and this is offered internationally.

My suggestion is that this may suit either an aspiring writer looking for some advice and guidance on an aspect of writing. As I write contemporary women’s fiction, that’s where my expertise lies but I tutor workshops on writing a series and about creating locations and this is transferrable across all genres.

Alternatively a reader might be interested in talking about the books and asking me questions full of spoilers which would be discouraged in an open forum.

That’s all my news for now. Wishing you a fabulous week.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one with TWO more books going into The Works

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I’m delighted to announce that another two of my books have gone into branches of The Works. Woo hoo!

My seventh title to go in is Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop which is the first book in the Christmas on Castle Street series but can be read as a standalone as it’s connected to the other two by virtue of being a business in Castle Street at Christmas. My eighth title is Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café, which is the first book in my Starfish Café series.

I’ve been watching for them appearing online so I could share a link with my news but they still don’t appear to be on the website. However, my daughter went into our Scarborough branch earlier today and reported back that they were in stock there so, as I needed to go into town anyway to drop off my accounts, I’ve just been to sign them.

They only arrived with Tuesday’s stock but half of them have already sold through. The Scarborough branch gets ten copies of each and there were five of Christmas Wishes left and only four Snowflakes. I suspect the remaining ones will sell through pretty quickly as they often do because the staff are so great at promoting me as a local author to anyone browsing the books, bless them.

An enormous thank you to Boldwood Books for securing this for me and to The Works on for being so amazing to have taken so many of my books over the past two years.

The shelves were a little bare as they’re waiting for loads more winter book deliveries so I’m feeling very honoured to be among the first on the shelves. If you do spot either or both of them in your local branch of The Works, please do let me know on social media and I would love to see a shelfie (photo of them on the shelves) as it’s so exciting to see them out and about. And if you’re Scarborough-based and manage to grab yourself a signed copy, do let me know too.

Oh, and Mum, I took my special pen you gave me to sign them. Thank you xx

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one with all the Top 100 audiobooks

Jessica Redland Author8 Comments

My audiobooks have been having a party over on Audible UK today and I’ve been celebrating something very unexpected – chart domination!

Ok, not complete chart domination – somewhat dramatic choice of word there – but it has been very exciting.

It all started with an email first thing from my fabulous editor – who is also our Publishing and Sales & Marketing Director at Boldwood Books – congratulating me on having two titles in the Audible UK Top 100! I had a look and was stunned to see The Secret to Happiness at #37 and Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow at #73! Eek!

They’re not on a promotion so I wondered why they’d suddenly stormed the chart. And then it struck me. These two titles are from a selection of six of my audiobooks which are part of the Audible Plus programme and today signalled the start of the second year of the title selection. Some titles may have come out, others been added in, and some will have stayed the same.

In my case, all six of my audiobooks which went in last year have been kept in the programme as Audible have been really impressed with their performance and the impact they’ve had on my other audiobook sales. There’s a mix of start of the series and standalone titles:

  • Making Wishes at Bay View – book 1 in the Welcome to Whitsborough Bay series
  • New Beginnings at Seaside Blooms – book 2 in the Welcome to Whitsborough Bay series
  • The Secret to Happiness – standalone book set in Whitsborough Bay (although connected to All You Need is Love so best read after AYNIL)
  • Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes – book 2 in the Christmas on Castle Street series
  • Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café – book 3 in the Christmas on Castle Street series (Note: these story follows on from Carly’s Cupcakes but book 1 Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop is more of a standalone and doesn’t need to be read first – they’re a series as they’re all set on Castle Street at Christmas)
  • Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow – book 1 in the Hedgehog Hollow series

Subscribers to Audible can listen to the selection on Audible Plus for FREE and this is a great way of trying new authors and even new genres. It has absolutely paid off as I’ve had messages from listeners saying they’d never have tried a particular title of mine but gave it a go as it was free, were hooked, and had listened to the whole series or even my entire back catalogue as a result. How lovely is that?

I’m assuming that there was a big email campaign about the fresh catalogue this morning which is what prompted the leap in the chart for those two audiobooks which, incidentally, are my two bestselling titles across all formats.

I was so chuffed with this unexpected charting but then hubby appeared in my office asking me if I’d looked at the Romance category chart because those two titles were #3 and #5 respectively. Double eek!

After I’d done some excited squealing, I decided to look at the rest of the Romance chart to see whether any of the other titles were there and I couldn’t quite believe what I discovered!

So that was nine of my sixteen titles in the Top 100 in the Romance chart – only three of which are in the Audible Plus programme – and ALL of the Hedgehog Hollow audiobooks in the Top 50. Woo hoo!

I’ve been out today for lunch and a wonderful catch-up with my bestie, author Sharon Booth, and there’s no WiFi or phone signal at the pub we go to so I had hubby keeping a watch on the chart all day but nothing moved. When I got home early this evening, I did a quick check and there had been some movement at last. Some titles had dropped but New Arrivals at Hedgehog Hollow (book 2 in the series) had climbed a little higher from #39 to #31 and Spring Tides at The Starfish Café had charted in the Romance chart too!

So, although it wasn’t at exactly the same time, 10% of the Romance chart has been given to my audiobooks today. I can’t quite believe it! There are over 200,000 audiobooks on Audible so it blows my mind to see my titles in top charts.

A huge thank you to my amazing main narrators Lucy Brownhill and Emma Swan who have taken the leads on all my audiobooks between them, and to an amazing cast of talented narrators who’ve brought life to the second perspectives in the stories: Gareth Bennett-Ryan, James Dryden, Polly Edsell, Kitty Kelly, and Gloria Sanders.

And thank you to you the listeners for making today’s chart ‘domination’ possible. I’m so very grateful. Happy listening.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where Spring Tides hits a milestone and my publisher wins big

Jessica Redland Author4 Comments

Yesterday (Wednesday 27th April), two special things happened that I wanted to share with you that made me feel very proud.

The first thing was a personal success. Spring Tides at The Starfish Café hit a whopping milestone of 1,000 reviews/ratings on Amazon after just three weeks. Actually, it was the three weeks and one day anniversary to be specific.

Thank you so much to everyone who has left a review or rating, making this milestone possible. Thank you to all those who’ve done this on Apple, Kobo, Audible and anywhere else as I appreciate all reviews, wherever they’re left. I only tend to shout about the Amazon ones because they’re the larger source.

When we released the first book in the series, Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café, we were a little nervous about it. It was the most emotional story I’d ever written, it was set in winter and included Christmas but wasn’t a Christmas book, and it was a new location, albeit within Whitsborough Bay. What if readers didn’t like it? What if they didn’t take to the new setting? What if they thought it was too sad? What if they wanted all the Christmas feels and didn’t like that a warm and fuzzy Christmas glow wasn’t what the book was all about and it centred on characters who struggled at that time of year? As it turns out, we needn’t have worried at all. It’s my most reviewed book to date (4,363 reviews/ratings on Amazon alone at the time of writing this) and possibly my fastest-selling so far!

You’d think that, with that success, I wouldn’t have been nervous about the release of the sequel, Spring Tides at The Starfish Café, but I was. Readers/listeners had actually loved how emotional Snowflakes was but the heartstrings are pulled when Hollie and Jake’s tragic pasts are revealed. In Spring Tides we already know about their pasts and they’re moving forward into the next stage of their lives so this story isn’t as emotional. Would readers reject it for that reason? Thankfully no as the reviews show.

Is this book the quickest to get to the 1,000 milestone? Not quite but almost. That record is held for me by the third book in the Hedgehog Hollow series, Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow. Released in early May 2021, HH3 hit 1,000 on the three-week anniversary exactly so Spring Tides is just one day behind! Book 4 in that series, A Wedding at Hedgehog Hollow, reached 1,000 on its four-week anniversary so Spring Tides ‘beat’ that one although I am inclined to think that reviews came in at a slightly slower rate as some readers were still on the Christmas reads at that point and/or waiting until they’d settled into the return to school/work routine after the New Year before reading it.

I’m so proud of those hedgehogs as they keep gathering fans and hedge-hugs with well over 12.5k reviews/ratings between them on Amazon now, each well past the milestone listed below:

The second win yesterday was actually a double win for my amazing publisher, Boldwood Books. They only opened for submissions in February 2019 with their first four titles released in August that year so haven’t even hit their third publication anniversary yet but have already taken the publishing world by storm. Some seriously impressive stats include 77 authors, over 200 titles published, 6 million books sold, 60 top 10 bestsellers, 2 USA Today bestsellers and over 250,000 Amazon 5-star reviews. That’s absolutely amazing! They’ve won several awards during this short time and have been shortlisted for others.

Yesterday at the IPG (Independent Publishers Guild) Independent Publishing Awards 2022, they scooped the win for Trade Publisher of the Year and for Independent Publisher of the Year. Woo hoo! Absolutely amazing and I’m so proud to be part of such an impressive, innovative and friendly team. Photo credit: Boldwood Books, shamelessly nicked from Twitter!

So yesterday was a very happy day for celebrations. And in other happy news this week, I’ve had the title confirmed for the sixth Hedgehog Hollow book and have seen the cover. I love both and can’t wait to share them with you … but that’s for another day.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café goes into Global Prime Reading

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Exciting news!

Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café went into Global Prime Reading this morning. This means it can be accessed for FREE by anyone in Prime Reading in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, USA and possibly a few other territories.

Titles stay in Prime for at least twelve weeks so you have plenty of time to get hold of it.

If you’re thinking it’s purely a Christmas book so you won’t be interested, that’s not the case. It’s set over the winter season – November to February – with backstory chapters covering other times of the year. Yes, Christmas does feature but it’s a seasonal rather than a pure Christmas story so perfect for reading all year round.

If you’re not a Prime reader, you can still pick this title (and all my others) up for FREE in Kindle Unlimited and, if you’re not a subscriber to that either, it’s only 99p on eBook on all platforms so a bargain whichever way you look at it.

And don’t forget that, as per my blog post yesterday, it’s also only £3 as part of the Audible UK sale until the end of Sunday (27th February) along with Family Secrets at Hedgehog Hollow.

Here’s the blurb to whet your appetite. Please do spread the word if you have friends/family who might enjoy any of these offers.

With 3,350 ratings on Amazon, currently 93% positive, I’m very excited to see what impact the Prime promotion has on chart position and ratings.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

‘Heartbreakingly moving and yet beautifully uplifting, I cried for all the right reasons!’ Jo Bartlett

‘I fell in love with this story from page one.’ Helen J Rolfe

‘Achingly poignant, yet full of hope – You will fall in love with this beautiful Christmas story’ Sandy Barker

‘A tender love story, full of sweet touches and beautiful characters.’ Beth Moran

Welcome to The Starfish Café – where you will find stunning views, delicious food and lifelong friendships.

Two broken hearts.

Since she inherited The Starfish Café, Hollie has poured her heart into the business, striving to keep her mother’s traditions and warm-hearted spirit alive. But behind closed doors Hollie is searching for true happiness as she grieves the tragic loss of her family who were once the beating heart of the café…

An unexpected meeting.

Jake lives by two rules: don’t let anyone get close and don’t talk about what happened. Little does he know that a chance meeting at The Starfish Café, facilitated by a fluffy lost dog, is about to turn his world upside down…

The chance to love again.

Can Hollie and Jake break down the barriers that have been holding them back from finding love and happiness, before Christmas comes around? After all, with courage, nothing is impossible…

Join top 10 bestseller Jessica Redland for a magical winter at the seaside, where love blossoms and lifelong friendships are made.

The one with a special offer for Yeokens collectors

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If you’re a fan of Yeo Valley’s products, you may already be a collector of Yeokens. There’s a special code on every Yeo Valley pack and those who register for the programme can enter the codes online and build up their Yeokens balance which can then be exchanged for discounts, goodies, days out or charitable donations. You can read more about Yeokens on Yeo Valley’s website here.

In an industry first, the brilliantly innovative Boldwood Books have partnered with Yeo Valley to offer discounted audiobooks in exchange for Yeokens.

There are six Boldwood titles currently on offer in a range of genres from Heather Atkinson, Rosie Clarke, Shari Low, Helen McGinn, Louise Douglas and me! I’m thrilled that Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow is one of them.

As you can see from the promo visual, 75 Yeokens gives 75% off a selected Boldwood audiobook which is a fabulous discount.

So, if you’re a Yeokens collector and have some spare Yeokens, here’s a great way to ‘spend’ them.

Happy listening!

Big hugs
Jessica xx

The one where I have lots of lovely things to celebrate in this troubled world

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In a world where so much continues to be confusing and frightening, I’ve been making the most of the happier things that have happened across the past week: adding the finishing touches to the Christmas decorations, a phenomenal semi-final on Strictly, a glowing report from my daughter’s virtual parents’ evening and a lovely day out to a stately home with an author friend.

The past week has brought much to celebrate in my writing too…

REVIEWS MILESTONES

Today, I hit a fabulous milestone for two of my books. Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café passed 1,500 reviews/ratings on Amazon and Christmas at Carly’s Cupcakes hit 2,500.

I’m absolutely delighted! It shouldn’t be long before I’m celebrating Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop hitting 1,000 and Starry Skies Over The Chocolate Pot Café reaching a whopping 3,000. The former will probably get there by the weekend and the latter will hopefully make it by the end of the year.

Isn’t it funny how all four of my seasonal books will hit an exact milestone at around the same time?

DOUBLE TOP 100 SUCCESS

I was absolutely delighted to see Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café and Christmas Wishes at the Chocolate Shop in the Kindle Top 100 in the UK at exactly the same time. They danced around each other a bit at the bottom of the chart with Christmas Wishes passing Starfish Café on one occasion.

Although Christmas Wishes didn’t stick around in the Top 100 for long, it was wonderful to see Charlee’s story there. Starfish Café has done me so proud, hanging around in the Top 100 fairly solidly since mid-November and peaking as high as #56.

There was also some success for Christmas Wishes on the Apple Books chart with a Top 10 position in the Fiction & Literature Chart and Top 100 in the overall chart too.

#BOLDBOOKCLUB

Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café was selected by Boldwood’s reading community as their choice for the very first #BoldBookClub which started with a readalong this week. There’s a book club question posed each day and various competitions and giveaways running so do pop over to Instagram – look for @BookandTonic – to join in.

I’ve been delighted with the buzz and the amazing answers to the book club questions so far. Tonight, there was an Instagram Live where 3 amazing bloggers – Fiona, Meena and Jav – joined me to ask questions and I did a quick reading. You can find the Live here. A huge thank you to Fiona, Meena and Jav for the great questions, to Claire for keeping me right with the technicalities (newbie here!) and to all those who stopped by.

FAVOURITE READS OF 2021

It’s the time of year when book bloggers/reviewers start sharing their favourite reads of the year.

Joanne from Portobello Book Blogs delighted me with the news that All You Need is Love was one of her top reads of the first quarter of the year! Wow! It’s one of my favourite books that I’ve written so this was a particular honour for me. You can find the blog post here. Thank you so very much, Joanne.

Then yesterday I received the amazing news that Claire at Book Lovers Anonymous (find her on Facebook here) had announced her top 5 books of 2021 out of 300 she’s read and A Wedding at Hedgehog Hollow was at #5. It isn’t out until 6th January but Claire, as a blogger, had an advanced copy so it fell into her 2021 reading.

Claire wrote, “fantastic addition to a phenomenal series. I love Samantha and I hope the series never ends”. Awww!

The good news didn’t end there as Snowflakes Over The Starfish Café also featured in her top 5. At number 1!!!!! Eek!!!! I am so thrilled.

Claire wrote, “Another fantastic book by the super talented Jessica Redland [pauses to blush and pinch self]… Honestly, never has a book made me feel so much emotion, and it will be a book I will love forever”. Seriously, I was welling up reading that!

Claire sent me a badge to put on my website so hopefully I’ll remember how to do that and get it added soon but here it is in the meantime. Isn’t it pretty?

Thank you to everyone who has played any part in all these wonderful things. I appreciate it so very much. It’s still hard to believe that this time three years ago, I was at my lowest ever point with my writing and seriously questioning whether to call it a day. Writing is who I am so I knew I could never really let go but it was so hard back then. So to anyone for whom life is tough just now, who’s facing challenges, who’s feeling low, hang on in there as I’m living proof that time can change everything. Stay strong, stay safe, and stay believing in yourself.

Big hugs
Jessica xx

Children in Read for Children in Need Part 2

Jessica Redland Author2 Comments

At the start of this month, I posted about the Children in Read auction – an amazing auction of books and book-related items in aid of BBC’s Children in Need. You can read the post here.

At the time, I explained that I’d donated my Christmas on Castle Street trilogy as a lot. It had 7 bids and had already raised £25. I’m thrilled to report that, with still 8 days to go until bidding closes, an 8th bid has raised it to a whopping £45. Eek! Delighted with that.

It’s lot 594 and you can find the listing here.

I have since donated a second lot, this time to win a single signed paperback book – my latest release of Snowflakes Over the Starfish Café.

This is lot 740 and I’m thrilled to say that it already has a £20 bid on it. Woo hoo! You can find it directly here.

There are 745 lots available and they keep getting added. So far, a whopping £16,122 has been raised. You can find the full auction here. All the money goes directly to Children in Need.

If you’re on Twitter, you can follow author videos and latest lots added @ChildrenInRead I recorded a video for Twitter after my last blog post which you can watch here.

A huge congratulations to Paddy Heron and the amazing team bringing all these lots to you and working tirelessly to raise as many book-related funds as they can for this brilliant cause.

Happy bidding!

Big hugs
Jessica xx