Are You a Wonky Book Winner?

Posted on 26/03/2020 by

Breaking News (of the good kind!)

The giveaway of the wonky paperback copies of The Cottage in a Cornish Cove ended at midnight GMT, and there were 34 entries!

The winners were picked from a random list of numbers—one allocated to each name—by my trusty helper (aka my hubby), and here are the four winners:

Lynn Folliott

Trudie Lavender

Jane Burke

Dee Groocock

Yes, that’s FOUR wonky books going out to these lovely people, because I found an extra wonky copy lurking in my office!

Congratulations to the winners. I will be contacting you by email, on the address you used when leaving your comment, in the next 12 hours to ask for your mailing address. Please check your spam folder if you don’t receive it!

Wait, there’s more…

We all need escape right now, so I do have a consolation prize for those who missed out on a wonky paperback. I am offering a free copy of the eBook version (sadly wonk-free) of The Cottage in a Cornish Cove to the remaining 30 entrants.

If you would like to take advantage of this time-limited offer, please contact me by email (using the email address you entered when you left your comment so that I know it’s you!) before midnight GMT on Saturday, 28th March (4pm PST) and I will send you the necessary discount code for your free copy (available to download as a Mobi, ePub or PDF file).

My email address is:

cass (dot) grafton (at) yahoo (dot) com

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read my blog post and leave a comment! This is a heart-warming tale with plenty of romance and humour, the perfect way to shut out the outside world and escape on your armchair travels.

PS: As stated when the giveaway was announced, if a winner does not respond to my email within seven days of the draw ending (midnight UK time on 1st April 2020), a new winner will be picked.

 

 

 

Posted in Cornwall, giveaways, heartwarming romance, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Escape with a Wonky Book!!

Posted on 18/03/2020 by

So things are all a bit crap right now, but I hope you’ll excuse me for changing the subject.

I became aware of two things yesterday: lots of people are having to cancel or postpone long-anticipated trips, home and abroad, and I keep tripping over some books sitting on my office floor.

These two matters probably seem unrelated, but they are not, and I realised it was the perfect reason to have a giveaway of The Cottage in a Cornish Cove (the guilty books in question). After all, if you can’t physically travel to somewhere gorgeous for a while, why not escape to beautiful Cornwall through the pages of a book instead?

Now, like life, these paperbacks aren’t perfect. I ordered a batch and some came with a rather strange ‘gait’, which gives them, as you can see, a rather bow-legged look. Yes, this is a level of gapping that would be totally unacceptable to the Strictly Come Dancing judges!

As a result, they’ve been sitting on the floor, neglected and ignored, for over a month, and I’ve decided it’s time they found a good home where they will be appreciated.

So how do you feel about a free wonky donkey book? I’ve got three copies available, they don’t need feeding or walking and won’t use up any of that precious loo roll, and they offer a complete escape from this strange new world we are all trying to come to terms with.

You can read the blurb for this uplifting contemporary romance here.

Entering is easy. Just leave me a comment below and your name will go into a draw. Well, it will go into the draw if it’s a nice comment. If it’s not nice, you will be treated to a hard stare from Paddington bear.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

The draw will run for seven days and will end at midnight UK time on Wednesday, 25th March 2020 and is open internationally.

Winners will be drawn randomly by an impartial judge (we’re in lockdown here, so that will have to be hubby) and the results announced here on the blog and shared on Facebook and Twitter. I will also email the winners. If a book is not claimed within seven days of the draw ending (midnight UK time on 1st April 2020), a new winner will be picked.

Please note, these books are here with me in Switzerland, where we are in lockdown. At the moment, the post office remains open and functioning, and we are allowed out for a walk provided we keep a 2-metre distance from anyone we pass, but with the ever-changing situation out there, I can’t promise this will continue.

If for any reason I am unable to post the books out to the winners when the time comes, I am happy to substitute an eBook copy for now and will send on the paperback when any restrictions are lifted.

Stay safe and well, everyone, and good luck in the draw!!

 

 

Posted in Cornwall, giveaways, heartwarming romance, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove | Tagged , , | 68 Comments

Some Bookish News

Posted on 05/03/2020 by

Today is the sixth anniversary of moving into our apartment in a small town near Zürich in Switzerland.

The novelty of living in such a beautiful, clean, wonderful country, with easy access to so much of Europe, has never worn off. If it weren’t for that little thing called ‘work’, we’d probably believe ourselves to be on a permanent holiday!

I’m particularly moved by this anniversary, however, and I’ve tried to put my finger on why it feels so significant. I think it’s because, if I look back over all I’ve achieved in the past six years, I am somewhat amazed. Being a champion procrastinator, and always aware I could be doing more—working harder, writing faster—things haven’t turned out too badly.

Since arriving here in early 2014, I have been involved in five books that are now published. At the time of moving, I was a co-writer on The Darcy Brothers with four fellow writers of Austenesque fiction (published in 2015). I then went on to co-write with my friend, Ada Bright, and the first in our time-travel romance series (initially published in 2016) was re-published by Canelo Escape in 2019.

I then wrote A Quest for Mr Darcy, a behemoth of a book (published in 2017), followed by a co-write of a second time-travel romance with Ada, again for Canelo Escape (published in 2019).

I also wrote the first in my new contemporary romance series, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove (published in February 2020).

Not too shabby, after all, for a professional procrastinator!

But that’s all looking back… what is the ‘new’ bookish news?

Well, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove has received rave reviews across the board since its release, for which I am extremely grateful, giving me plenty of inspiration to continue this uplifting and heart-warming series set in the fictitious coastal town of Polkerran.

Have you visited yet? You should… although according to reader feedback, you may not want to leave!

As I may have previously mentioned, however, I do have several other pens in various pots. Ada and I have an outline for the third in our time-travel romance series; I’m working on a quirky women’s fiction novel, and I’ve also outlined two more Austenesque novels, one of which is a cross over between Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion.

I’m just in the process of setting up a newsletter—more on this in the coming weeks—and anyone who subscribes to this will have access to exclusive content. (I’ll only be sending out a newsletter once a quarter, so you won’t be inundated, and there will be a dedicated one for my Regency readers and one for contemporary!)

The content will relate to both The Cottage in a Cornish Cove (deleted scenes, character backgrounds and snippets from the next book, as well as the chance to appear in it as a character living in Polkerran) and also the Austenesque works in progress (I’ll share the opening chapters and again offer the chance to be part of the story).

So stay tuned, and I’ll be back shortly with more ‘newsletter’ news! In the meantime, have a fabulous March.

As for me, I’m going to be busy writing. I managed to get the words Toblerone and Matterhorn into the first book in the Cornish Cove series. I wonder what I can wriggle into the second, or even the Austenesque works? Darcy scaling a mountain, anyone?

Answers on a postcard, please!

~o0o~

Details of all my books can be found via the relevant tabs above!

 

 

Posted in Cornwall, Switzerland, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove Comes Home!

Posted on 28/02/2020 by

I tried—really hard—to think of a word as a substitute for ‘home’ which began with a letter ‘c’, so as not to spoil the alliteration of this post’s heading, but to no avail!

Anyway, my baby is back where it came from, having been jollying about on a post-publication blog tour. You may have come across it now and again. In fact, it was pretty hard to miss, as it managed to visit around 30 blogs in its first week!

In addition to that, I’ve been quite busy myself, starting off on publication day with a visit to Anna at Diary of an Eccentric, and you can still read an excerpt from the book from that visit here. (The giveaway has now ended.)

Following that, I was on Frost Magazine as part of the Sister Scribes’ regular Monday feature, talking about the challenge of naming characters, and you can read all about it here.

Next stop was a double weekend whammy, firstly, calling in on my friend and fellow Swiss writer, Linda Huber, to talk about the influence of location on my writing and how Cornwall inspired the story behind The Cottage in a Cornish Cove. You can read all about it on Linda’s blog here.

Finally, I headed straight over to join Jo and her lovely cat, Jaffa, for the Sunday Brunch feature on Jaffa Reads Too, and you can enjoy our fun Q&A by clicking here.

Phew! All in all, it was a busy week!

Reviews, in the meantime,  have been pouring in and they have been amazing! I am touched and overwhelmed by the love for The Cottage in a Cornish Cove, and I can’t wait to return to Polkerran and rejoin the locals as I pen the next tale in the series.

If you haven’t yet given the story a try, I hope these reviews will encourage you to do so. It’s heart-warming, uplifting, romantic and humorous. What could be a more perfect escapism during these days of worrying news and inclement weather than to grab a hot chocolate, your favourite jumper or blanket and curl up somewhere quiet as you meet the warm and funny locals of Polkerran, wallow in the delights of a Cornish fishing village and fall in love with romance all over again?

~o0o~

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove is available in paperback and eBook format and here are a few links, in an attempt to convince you how easy it is to get your own copy! 😉

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple iBookStore

Smashwords (for PDF, lrf, txt, pdb, html, Mobi or ePub files)

~o0o~

If you’d like to see where the book has been on its travels, here’s the list of lovely bloggers and reviewers involved on the tour organised by the amazing Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources:


~o0o~

 

Posted in Cornwall, heartwarming romance, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove | Tagged | 2 Comments

It’s Book Baby Eve!!

Posted on 10/02/2020 by

My newest book baby is almost hatched! Tomorrow, the eBook for The Cottage in a Cornish Cove will be released (the paperback is already available – shhh, don’t tell anyone!) I’ve agonised over this one so much, with it being a different category of romance from my usual historical or time-travel roots. The book has been in draft for so long and had to face so many interruptions in its development, I thought it would never see the light of day. All in all, it’s not been an easy ‘pregnancy’!

However, all that is now behind me. Tomorrow sees the book’s arrival and to celebrate, it’s going on an 8-day blog tour (roughly translated, that means I’m going to be getting on everyone’s nerves sharing tweets and posts on social media for 8 days), after which I will be going for a long lie down in a quiet, dark room!

For now, though, let me just say that I am excited about the imminent arrival of my new book baby. I fell in love with my main characters as well as with Polkerran, the fictitious Cornish fishing village at the story’s centre. It was also a pleasure to get to know the locals of Polkerran, and I’m looking forward to revisiting them very soon as I write the next book in the series, currently creatively called ‘CC Book Two’ – I find naming my book babies one of the hardest things, so any suggestions will be gratefully received!

You can find the book’s blurb here, and to anyone who has pre-ordered, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I hope you enjoy the read!!

 

Posted in The Cottage in a Cornish Cove | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Take a Peek Inside the Book!

Posted on 25/01/2020 by

Please note: the opening chapters have now been removed as the book is published as of 11th February 2020.

~o0o~

The opening chapters of The Cottage in a Cornish Cove are now up on the blog. You can find them under The Cornish Cove Series tab or just click here to be taken to the first chapter.

I hope you enjoy meeting Anna and getting to know her as she heads for a new life in Cornwall!

These chapters will remain on the blog until 10th February, after which the ‘peek inside’ will be removed.

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove will be published in eBook and paperback formats on 11th February 2020, with audio hopefully to follow!

 

 

Posted in Cornwall, heartwarming romance, The Cottage in a Cornish Cove, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

New Year, New Me… Almost!

Posted on 21/01/2020 by

It may not be spring yet, but I’ve had a bit of a clean up here as I’m hoping to broaden the scope of my blog over the coming year.

I’ll be writing more about that soon, but the first announcement of this new year is that I have a book coming out next month!

So, I’m still writing romance, but this time I’ve ventured into another category – hence the ‘almost’ new me! Having started off writing historical romance set in the Regency era, and then moving on to time-travel romance, which drifts between the early 19th century and today, it seemed perfectly logical to have a go at a contemporary romance!

I’m therefore excited to present The Cottage in a Cornish Cove, the first book in my new series of heart-warming romances set in the fictitious coastal village of Polkerran in Cornwall.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting the opening chapters and talking about future plans for other books in the series, plus there will be news on a couple of other writing projects, including more Regency romance!

What’s it about? Here’s the blurb!

A heart-warming tale of discovering all you never wanted is exactly what you need.

Orphaned as a baby and raised by uncaring relatives, much of Anna Redding’s happiness as a child came from the long summer holidays spent with an elderly family friend, Aunt Meg, in the charming village of Polkerran.

With Aunt Meg’s passing, Anna is drawn back to the West Country, relocating to the Cornish cove where she was once so happy. Filled with memories, she hopes to perhaps open a B&B—and perhaps cross paths with Alex Tremayne again, a local boy she used to have a major crush on and who only had to walk past Anna to make her heart flutter.

Settling into her new life, and enjoying her work for the older, reclusive and—to be honest—often exasperating Oliver Seymour, Anna is delighted when Alex reappears in Polkerran and sweeps her off her feet.

The stars finally seem to be aligned, but just as Anna thinks all she’s ever wished for is within reach, a shock discovery brings everything under threat, and she discovers she’s living a dream that isn’t hers.

Can Anna rescue the new life she has made for herself and, when the testing moment comes, will anyone be there to hold her hand?

Get to know the warm and funny locals of Polkerran, wallow in the quaintness of a Cornish fishing village and fall in love with romance all over again.

The Cottage in a Cornish Cove will be released in both eBook and paperback on 11th February, and you can pre-order at any of the following links:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Kobo

Barnes & Noble Nook

Smashwords (for PDF, lrf, txt, pdb, html, Mobi or ePub files)

Also available in the Apple iBookStore (link unavailable)

Other News!

I’m currently working on two different Austen-inspired stories. One is a Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion crossover, the other is a Darcy-centric tale.

I’ll be posting news on these and some sample chapters in coming months, so keep an eye out for them, and I’ll be asking for input too!

Happy reading!

 

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40% off! A Quest for Mr Darcy goes on sale!

Posted on 21/11/2017 by

It’s that time of year again when we all turn our thoughts to gifts for loved ones. However, it’s not too late to treat yourselves either!

A Quest for Mr Darcy is currently on sale at $2.99 (£2.26) – a 40% reduction! It’s a big book, making this great value for money, so what better time to buy? 😉

It’s available until this coming weekend at this price, through the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Apples stores at the links below.

Still not sure? It’s receiving amazing reviews (thank you so much to all the readers, bloggers and reviewers out there!), and you can now read try it out by reading the opening to the book here on my Blog, as I have re-posted the first few chapters as a taster. It can be found at this link:

A Quest for Mr Darcy

Here’s a sample of some of the wonderful reviews of the story received so far. I’m so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to read the book and share their thoughts. ❤

“I can’t decide what I loved more – the tender and achingly beautiful romance, the tension-building drama and mystery, or the many heartwarming relationships formed throughout! I highly recommend!”

You can read the full review from Meredith Esparza on this link over at Austenesque Reviews!

“Longtime Cassandra Grafton fan here! Her books are automatic download. Seriously, she could title them “Telephone Book” — and I’m sure to buy her work.

As anticipated, this latest did not disappoint. Quite the page turner with Darcy returning from a year abroad after his disastrous, unsuccessful proposal at Hunsford. How Grafton masterfully weaves her story, entangles all the players, and finally leads us to their well-earned happily-ever-after… Well, pure genius. This one is not to be missed.”

Thank you to Christina Boyd, Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer, for the fab review above, posted to Amazon.com!

“A masterfully written Pride & Prejudice variation.

Jane Austen’s characters are written with a real skill and love, they are so wonderfully recognisable, you know that all their actions are completely true to their personalities. However, Cassandra Grafton goes further – she creates a whole host of brand new characters and does it beautifully!”

A delightful review from J.B. Grantham on Amazon.co.uk!

“I loved everything about this book. There is absolutely nothing that dissatisfies. After finishing the novel, I felt the warmth and gratification of a book well read. With the wonderful way that Cass Grafton writes, her beautifully flowing Regency ‘speak’, a surprising mystery or two, a story with feeling and depth, and a wonderful ending with a few neat twists, this is a book anyone would fancy. I highly recommend it.”

You can read Janet Taylor’s full review on this link at More Agreeably Engaged!

I had so much fun last year writing and posting A Quest for Mr Darcy, and it’s been so heart-warming to read such lovely responses to the story. Thank you to every person who ever left a comment on a chapter, left a review or emailed me about it. ❤

You can find the book at the reduced price at the following links:

Kindle Store

Nook Store

Kobo Store

Apple Store

Smashwords Store (all formats, plus PDF etc)

 

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Jane Austen £10 Giveaway Winners Announced!

Posted on 18/10/2017 by

Thank you to everyone who participated in the recent draw to win one of the new £10 Jane Austen notes I picked up on the day of release – unused and never been in circulation! The response was fabulous, and I loved reading everyone’s responses to the question.

I’m delighted to announce that the two winners are:

Donna D Krug

&

Jennifer Redlarczyk

Congratulations to you both, and do please contact me either through PM on Facebook or on my email at cassandra {dot} grafton {at} gmail {dot} com so that I know what address to send your prize to!

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

It’s a Quest Anniversary & a Jane Austen £10 Note Giveaway!

Posted on 11/10/2017 by

A year ago today, 11th October, I began posting regular instalments of A Quest for Mr Darcy.

The book was published in June of this year, and I have been touched, delighted and humbled by the lovely response to the story, so thank you to everyone who followed along during the six months of weekly postings, encouraging me along the way, and to all those who have since read it and shared their thoughts on it.

By way of celebration, I am honouring one of the things that has most surprised (and then touched) me about this story: how much I enjoyed writing Bingley’s younger twin sisters, Olivia and Viola, and by the response to them from readers. Bringing original characters into a story peopled with those we have all loved for so many years is a daunting prospect, so I thank each and every one who has ever told me they enjoyed the twins and their antics!

As we’re talking twins, there have to be two things to give away. Some of you may recall I was in Winchester on the anniversary of Jane Austen’s passing back in July, where I attended the presentation of the new £10 note. It was a real treat to be able to hold one of the notes and see up close how very pretty they are!

It was released into general circulation in the UK on 14th September, and by sheer good fortune, I happened to be in the country attending the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath. Only a few select banks across the country had been sent the notes for this first day of release, and I had no idea Bath was one of them until I saw a local news report from Milsom Street! Recognising the ATM the reporter stood beside, I prodded my friends into action, and we were soon each holding one of these little pieces of history in our hands!

One was never going to be enough, however, and soon I had in my possession a little pile of freshly minted, never been in circulation, immaculate £10 notes!

I donated my first £10 to the Jane Austen House Museum and their ‘Bring Jane Home‘ campaign when we visited there the following week.

I have also passed some of these unused and very special notes to a few friends who would not likely come across one in the foreseeable future. However, I have two left over from that early raid on the cash machine, and I’m now going to give them away to two readers of my Blog!

All you have to do to enter a draw to win one of them is leave a comment below as to why you want one! 😀

Oh, and you can find out why I gave Bingley three younger half-sisters (the hint came from  Jane Austen herself, within the pages of Pride & Prejudice) at this link which announced the start of the story last year!

~o0o~

NB: Giveaway will run for 4 days, closing at midnight UK time on Sunday, 15th October 2017. Two winners will be drawn randomly and announced here on the Blog. Unclaimed prizes will be re-drawn if not claimed within 48 hours.

 


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