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Sharing our love for authors, and the stories they are inspired to tell.

The Secret
by Jennifer Wells
Blog Tour & Guest Post

Image Of Author Jennifer Wells

Aria Fiction have arranged a nice compact Blog Tour for The Secret, so having had a sneak peek at some of the other stops, I recommend you visit a few and enjoy the excellent reviews, extracts and Guest Posts being shared.

The author, Jennifer Wells, has also contributed this lovely Guest Post for Fiction Books to share.

As always, thanks also go out to NetGalley for their seamless download service.

Image Of The Blog Tour Banner For The Book 'The Secret' BY Author Jennifer Wells

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THE SECRET

Cover Image Of The Book 'The Secret' By Author Jennifer WellsA tightly woven story full of secrets and lies with a breathtaking finale.

London 1920 – Troubled young dancer, Lily, is invited to remote Elmridge House, home of the wealthy theatre benefactor Dr Cuthbertson to escape her troubled past. An isolated guest room and a surprise pregnancy leave her longing to return to the stage and her London life. She soon discovers that Elmridge House is not all that it seems – the house holds secrets which make it difficult for her to leave.

Missensham 1942 – Young nurse Ivy Watts is called out to a patient at Elmridge House, home of the aloof Mrs Cuthbertson and reclusive Dr Cuthbertson. Ivy is entranced by the opulence of the house and its glamorous past, but when she tells her mother about Mrs Cuthbertson, her mother becomes fearful and forbids her from returning to the house. What secrets does Elmridge House hold? And why does Lily’s mother live in fear of the mysterious Mrs Cuthbertson?

Perfect for the fans of Lesley Pearse and Susan Lewis

JENNIFER WELLS

Image Of Author Jennifer WellsJennifer’s early childhood was spent touring England’s canals on a dilapidated narrowboat.

As an adult, she travelled further afield visiting Russia and the South Pacific, with a stint working on the banana farms of Queensland.

When she ran out of money, Jennifer came home and worked in Media and Market Research in London before moving to Devon, where she lives with her young family and cat, still working in Market Research when not writing.

The Secret is her third novel in the series set in fictional Missenham in the English Home Counties.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter

Connect with Jennifer on Facebook

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Image Of Author Jennifer Wells

HOW MY BOOKS ARE CREATED IN FIVE NOTSOEASY STEPS

1) Inspiration

Like most authors I am a bit of a daydreamer. The slightest thing can send little stories racing through my head which usually end with someone waving a hand in front of my face and saying something like: ‘Hello, are you there?’, ‘You let the pan boil over again’, or ‘The meeting ended ten minutes ago͛. I love to think about how people lived in the past, and I get most of my inspiration from those little pieces of history that are all around us. Below is a photograph of some initials and dates carved into a tree which I came across during my lunchbreak at work. Were these made by wartime lovers?

Image In Guest Post by Jennifer Wells - Initials & Dates Carved In Tree

2) Hard Work

This of course includes things like plotting, structuring and character development – I could go on and on. We͛ve all  heard Thomas Edison’s quote that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Well I can’t claim to know about genius, but the same is true of writing a novel. I write every spare minute that I get (and with a 9 to 5 job and two small children that is not many). I am becoming myopic from the hours I spend staring at a screen, and don’t ask me how much weight I put on when I write a novel! If you like to spend your evenings savouring a fine meal, socialising over a glass of wine or even crashing in front of the telly, writing a novel is not for you.

Image For Guest Post By Jennifer Wells - Plotting A Strategy With paper And Pen

3) Distractions

These fall into two categories. Firstly are those that at self-inflicted and occur when you are locked away pretending to do the hard work. Examples are social media, making the fifth cup of tea, putting half a load of washing in the machine and general author neurosis (the symptoms of which are many and varied). Then are the distractions that are out of your control (loosely termed as ‘life͛ ). These include things like the wasted evening you spent sitting by your poorly child’s bed holding the sick bowl, the hours you will never get back while your computer updates and, of course, the cat that won’t get off the keyboard.

Image From Guest Post By Jennifer Wells - Cat Lying Across Keyboard

4) Collaboration

Creating a novel is not all down to the author, there are so many others involved in the production of a book – editors, publishers, marketing people and graphic designers – people that I will never meet and probably some who I don’t even know exist. Editing is a particular challenge – the drafts go from me to the editors, and then back to me again, and then back to the editors and then … well, you get the idea. Is the author in the picture smiling or gritting her teeth? Is the book hugging or strangling her? I think everyone involved would agree it is a bit of both.

Image From Guest Post By Jennifer Wells - Person Hugging A Book

5) Voila!

So the book is here. It looks great. Time to relax? Not really. I’m rubbish at social media but there are people working hard behind the scenes to promote it for me, again many of whom I don’t know exist, and there are the lovely book bloggers and reviewers who do their job for love and little else. My gratitude to them all.

So, now it is all over but there is no rest for the wicked – it’s time to wait for that inspiration again …

Dual Image Of Paperback Book And Kindle Download - 'The Secret' By Jennifer Wells

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Written by
Yvonne

I can’t remember a time, even as a child, when I haven’t been passionate about books and reading.
I began blogging, when I realised just how many other people out there shared my passion for the written word and I have been continually amazed at the wealth of books that are available and the amount of great new friends I have made, from literally 'The Four Corners Of The World'.

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Written by Yvonne