Today I’m delighted to feature author Amelia Berry who writes stories that are full of romance, humour, stunning locations and delicious food. How can anybody resist? Her latest book, A Recipe for Love, was published yesterday. Amelia may look familiar to some of you as she is also published as Ally Sinclair, Alison May and, in collaboration, as Juliet Bell.
Amelia grew up on the North Yorkshire coast and now lives in Worcestershire. She has been writing professionally since 2013. She is a former Chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and a former university lecturer. Alongside writing she also works with developing authors and volunteers as a tour guide for the National Trust.
Over to Amelia :
Which five pieces of music/songs would you include in the soundtrack to your life and why?
This is really hard. I’m not a big music obsessive. The soundtrack to my life would probably be mostly half remembered sketches and stand up comedy lines. But, in the spirit of the exercise here we go…
If I Didn’t Have You by Tim Minchin
This is a song about love and probability and lots of people think it’s deeply unromantic. I think those people have not understood at all. Knowing that if you’d never met your partner, you’d probably have met somebody else instead doesn’t mean you love the person you’re with any less. It means that you know that loving them is a choice amongst millions, not a fated thing you have no control over. I’m not sure my husband and I officially have a song, but unofficially one that’s mostly about maths does appeal.
Sail On, Boys from Operation Mincemeat
Firstly I love a musical. And secondly I love anything that reminds me of the sea. I grew up on the coast in North Yorkshire, and set A Recipe for Love on the coast of the West of Scotland. I just love being by the sea. I love the openness and the scale of the views. This sea shanty from Operation Mincemeat captures the call of the ocean perfectly.
Secret Smile by Semisonic
This was our first dance song at our wedding. It’s slightly plaintive in tone but I love the lyrics.
The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
Childhood family holidays were sound tracked by precisely three cassettes on the car stereo. Those were Johnny Cash at San Quentin prison, some sort of Beatles compilation, and Simon & Garfunkel live in Central Park. And hearing any of those will immediately take me right back to being in the backseat of my parents’ car with my sister, driving through France or down to Cornwall. I could have picked pretty much any track, but this one is one of my favourites.
The Dr Who theme song
Dum-de-dum, dum-de-dum, dum-de-dum… Those opening notes take me back to being six years old and watching Peter Davison on TV, or to being 11 and wanted to be Ace and run around with Sylvester McCoy and blow things up. Or, honestly, to being 45 and simply really wanting to be Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor at the centre of all the action.
What five things (apart from family and friends) would you find it hard to live without.
Chocolate.
Cheese – I think there’s a wisdom that most people are either chocolate people or cheese people. I am on a one woman mission to disprove this theory.
Charity shops – love love love a second hand bargain.
Salsa classes – so much fun and the only form of even vaguely cardio exercise I’ve ever stuck with.
My laptop – wherein lives my Google calendar and also all the words I have written or could one day write.
Give five pieces of advice to your younger self?
Don’t worry about needing to be thinner.
Don’t worry about having to be brilliant at everything you try.
Don’t worry about people thinking you’re not cool.
Just don’t worry so much kid.
And finally, don’t listen to your sister when she tells you it’ll be fun to climb up the bookcase. You will fall off and it will end in a trip to A&E.
Tell us five things that most people don’t know about you
Katie Fforde once said I had great tits. (Although really a lot of people know that, because I am very proud of the fact).
I quite often want to steal clothes from small children. I don’t, because of the law and the fact that they wouldn’t fit. But small child clothes are way better than grown up ones. They get all the pretty colours and tutu skirts and pockets.
I named my hot water bottle. He’s called Hercules. I have no idea why.
I am one of the messiest people on the planet. I have an exceptional ability to just put things down as soon as I’ve finished using them and simply not notice them again. (Again anyone who’s shared a house with me definitely already knows that!)
I was an astonishingly fussy eater as a child and there are a few things that still absolutely give me the ick. The weirdest one is probably egg white. Egg yolk is fine. Meringue is excellent. But egg white anywhere you can taste it is just horrific. I will absolutely order a poached egg and painstakingly cut out the yolk.
Tell us five things you’d still like to do or achieve.
To write an episode of Dr Who (having established that actually becoming a Time Lord is probably not realistic).
To travel more – I’ve been really lucky to have visited lots of places, but there’s still so much more to sea. I’d love to spend more time in Scandinavia, and to visit the Caribbean, and I’ve never been to Australia or… this list could go on for some time.
To live by the sea again. It’s where I grew up and I miss it. The second my husband no longer has a job that dictates where we live, we are definitely heading to the coast.
To have a film or TV adaptation of one (or more!) of my books.
To discover the key to work-life balance. I believe it probably involves saying no to things, but then so many of the things sound interesting so why would I want to say no? This one is a bit of an ongoing project for me.
Many thanks for joining me Amelia, it’s always nice to meet another Yorkshire lass, and a coastal one at that. Sadly, I suspect my birthplace of Hull, doesn’t offer the same immediate coastal beauty as the North Coast. Thanks for bringing one of my favourite Simon and Garfunkel songs, it showcases their voices beautifully. One of my concert highlights was getting to see Paul Simon in 2016, he was still a consummate performer. You are now also enrolled into the chocolate club – but be warned, there are quite a lot of us! I’m useless at finding bargains in charity shops, but always have to go in and have at the bookshelves. I love the ‘bookcase’ advice to yourself. My brother thought it would be great fun to climb up a wall unit when he young, in his case against all advice. Thankfully, neither he nor the unit and it’s content was harmed – more through good luck than management! You do realise we now all want to be party to ‘that’ conversation with Katy Forde! I also have a thing about eggs, but in reverse. If a yolk is anything less than runny, I can’t eat it. I couldn’t eat a hardboiled egg to save my life. On the plus side if we ever met, between us we’d be fine with an egg. Good luck with your goals, I really hope you can achieve them. When you get that work life balance thing sussed let me know and I’ll see if I can apply it to the time I spend on bookish pursuits (not including reading).
Amelia’s Books
(NB This post features Affiliate links from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases)
A Recipe for Love
Cinderella meets Bake-Off in this contemporary rags-to-riches romcom
From the moment they meet, Bella and Adam know this is no ordinary holiday romance.
This is the real deal.
But when they find out Adam’s father has died and he has inherited the penniless Lowbridge Loch estate, their lives are changed in an instant.
Bella suddenly finds herself dealing with crumbling castles, battling baronesses and a tiny community of eccentric characters. Rising to the challenge, Bella has an idea to save Lowbridge Loch. She will create The Highland Cookery School.
But will her plans sink like a souffle when her skills are put to the test?
And can Bella and Adam’s love survive the pressure of saving the estate?
Writing as Ally Sinclair
A Season for Love
Can old-fashioned courtship survive in today’s dating world?
When Emma Love’s mother retires, it is time for her to take the reins of the family dating agency and build on its success. And she has a fresh new idea: to host a Jane Austen-style Regency Season of glamourous events where potential lovers can actually take the time to get to know each other in person, with no apps in between.
As the round of glamourous social events begins, we meet some of Emma’s new clients, and see her matchmaking skills in action.
Annie, who has a romantic soul but believes she lost her chance at love a long time ago; recently divorced Jane, who is not quite ready to see what her new love life might look like, and wild child Lydia, who is more interested in hooking up than finding her Mr Darcy.
All is going swimmingly but as the Season unfolds, there is a fly in Emma’s ointment – the irritating Mr Knight, with his casual attitude and gentle cynicism. Why is she allowing him to ruffle her calm, ordered life and why can’t she stop thinking about him? She has no intention of becoming romantically involved herself, of course; she is far too sensible to take a chance on love – isn’t she?
The Christmas Season
You are cordially invited to your Happy Ever After…
Emma Love is a matchmaker who believes in old fashioned courtship, over swiping left or right. She’s inspired by Jane Austen, Bridgerton and a thousand and one perfect romance stories, where matches were made at elegant soirees and not by sliding into your intended’s DMs.
This year, Emma is inviting you to a very special social season, where a hopeful singleton might find their own Mr Darcy waiting under the mistletoe. At a series of glamorous, festive, and, most importantly, romantic events, Emma is making it her mission to find love for everyone this Christmas Season.
How will she fare trying to find perfect matches for the Price twins, both too busy trying to outdo the other to ever look for love? Can she encourage the sexy Season rake, Theo, to change his ways? And what of Hope Lucas, who Emma has failed to match before, but who still has faith that Mr Right is out there?
And with Emma so focused on finding everybody else’s happy ever after, is she at risk of letting her own perfect match slip away?
Welcome to the Christmas Season.
Writing as Alison May
Christmas Kisses
Three very different women. Three Christmases. Three perfect romances.
Read all of Alison May’s Christmas Kisses stories in one bumper edition.
Meet Holly, desperate to get away from Christmas altogether. Meet Cora, at the end of a disastrous year. Meet Jessica, determined to make Christmas perfect.
All three of them are about to have their lives turned upside down, with new loves, new adventures and lots and lots of festive magic.
Summer Night Dreams
Previously published as Midsummer Dreams.
Believe in magic. Follow your dreams. What could possibly go wrong?
Emily relies on her father. They live together and work together and, since her mother died, she’s become very used to being Daddy’s one and only princess, so whatever she was expecting him to bring home from his latest overseas conference it wasn’t a brand new fiancée.
When home no longer offers the security she craves, Emily resolves to find a man she can truly depend on. Fortunately, her boyfriend, Dominic, is nothing if not reliable. There’s no reason at all that he couldn’t be her happy ever after.
Except… Emily’s best friend, Helen, has loved Dominic for a decade. Can she accept that he will never be hers?
And what about Alex, Helen’s devil-may-care housemate? He’s impulsive, unreliable, and passionate – everything Emily is sure she doesn’t want.
Before the Dream
What happens before the dream begins?
Meet Tanya and Theo in this delightful prequel short story to Alison May’s Summer Night Dreams.
Two people. Two lonely hearts. Both an awful long way from finding their happy ever after. Through cafes and airports, across Britain and around the world – follow Tanya and Theo as they both go on their own journeys through life. But will their journey lead them to one another, or are their paths destined to cross but never meet?
Find out what happens Before The Dream.
Much Ado About Nothing
Previously published as Much Ado About Sweet Nothing and Sweet Nothing
Would you take a second chance at first love?
Trix Allen never would. She’s been hurt before, and she has no interest in hearts or flowers anymore.
Mathematician, Ben Messina, agrees Unfortunately that’s the only thing Ben and Trix agree on. Most of their time together is spent bickering and sparring. Romance is not part of their plan.
But Ben’s brother, Claudio, and Trix’s best friend, Henrietta, are in love, and determined to see their closest friends happy as well. Can they trick Ben and Trix into acknowledging their true feelings? And when Claudio and Henri’s perfect romance falls apart will anyone be able to keep hold of their belief in love, or will all their hopes come to nothing once again?
All That Was Lost
In 1967 Patience Bickersleigh is a teenager who discovers a talent for telling people what they want to hear. Fifty years later she is Patrice Leigh, a nationally celebrated medium. But cracks are forming in the carefully constructed barriers that keep her real history at bay.
Leo is the journalist hired to write Patrice’s biography. Struggling to reconcile the demands of his family, his grief for his lost son, and his need to understand his own background, Leo becomes more and more frustrated at Patrice’s refusal to open up.
Because behind closed doors, Patrice is hiding more than one secret. And it seems that now, her past is finally catching up with her.
