THE FLOWER SELLER
BY ELLIE HOLMES
Genre: Commercial Romantic Fiction
Release Date: 2nd June
2016
Jessie Martin
believes that when it comes to love there are three types of people: the
skimmers, the bottom dwellers and the ones who dive for pearls. Jessie is a pearl diver. She had thought her
husband William was a pearl diver too. But when William leaves her for a
younger woman, it’s not just Jessie’s heart that is broken, her ability to
trust is shattered too.
Refusing to
retire from the battlefield of life, Jessie resolves to put her heartache
behind her. She doesn’t want to be that woman who was too scared to love again.
There has to be another pearl diver out there; all she has to do is find him.
When fate brings
handsome flower seller Owen Phillips into her life, Jessie believes he may be
the one but is her fragile trust about to be shattered all over again?
The Flower Seller is a
warm, engaging read about love, deceit, betrayal and hope.
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EXCERPT
It
had been her daughter Hannah’s idea to put an advert in the Abbeyleigh Gazette. ‘It’s time to take
yourself out of your comfort zone, Mum. Why don’t you get Anne to give you a
hand with the ad?’
Sucked
into the vortex of her daughter’s enthusiasm, Jessie had agreed before she
could talk herself out of it.
‘So,
what have you got so far?’ Anne had asked over margaritas in Spike’s Bar.
‘Newly
single brunette, slim, attractive, early forties, non-smoker, good sense of
humour, would like to meet man thirties/forties for friendship and maybe more,’
Jessie read aloud.
Anne
pretended to fall asleep and Jessie slapped her arm.
‘Bit
dull, sweetie!’ Anne said with a smile. ‘For starters, you should put early
thirties. Everyone knocks a few years off. And do you really want to say slim?
It’s practically shorthand for flat-chested and you’re not. How about “great
figure” instead?’
‘That’s
a bit conceited, isn’t it?’
Anne
threw her a look. ‘It’s an advert, Jessie. You’re meant to be selling
yourself.’
‘Blimey!
I’ll just get some fishnets and a red light, shall I?’
‘You
know what I mean. You should put something in there about being outgoing. That
usually leads to some interesting propositions.’
‘But
I’m not outgoing,’ Jessie said.
‘For
goodness’ sake, outgoing just means you’re up for a bit of fun. I’m not
suggesting for a moment that you put “open-minded”. Now that would lead to some
replies that would make your hair stand on end. And obviously your WLTM has to
be a man in his late twenties or early thirties.’
‘Has
to be? This is my advert, remember? Not yours!’
Anne
smirked. ‘So you’d prefer “Recently dumped flat-chested brunette, early
forties, lives life with the handbrake on, would like to meet man forties/fifties
for visits to the library”?’
‘I’d
prefer not to be doing it at all.’
Anne
squeezed her hand. ‘I know, sweetie. And you can stick another pin in your
effigy of William when you get home but right now we need to get you back out
there before life passes you by.’
ABOUT ELLIE HOLMES
Ellie Holmes
writes commercial women’s fiction and romantic suspense. She takes her
inspiration from the beautiful Essex countryside and the sublime Cornish coast.
The Flower Seller is Ellie’s first full-length novel. Ellie is a member of the Alliance of
Independent Authors and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. To find out more please visit www.ellieholmesauthor.com
Interview:
Interview:
Where are you from?
I’m a proud Essex girl.
Tell us your latest news.
My debut novel The Flower Seller is being
released on 2nd June.
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
When I was a child and I would spend hours
writing stories on an A4 pad. I remember writing my age in the top left hand
corner – 7¾ - that extra three quarters was always so important when I was
little. I no longer have the same need to make myself older than I am, quite
the opposite now!
What inspired you to write your first book?
My inspiration came from the need to get
down on paper the stories that were buzzing around my brain.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I strive for warm and engaging and easy to
read. If I hit the mark that’s a good day at the office.
How did you come up with the title?
I came up with the title for The Flower
Seller early on. Most people expect the
flower seller in the book to be a woman and I like the fact it plays with people’s
perceptions.
Is there a message in your novel that you
want readers to grasp?
Absolutely – you should never retire from
the battlefield of life and you should always strive to live life with the
handbrake off.
How much of the book is realistic?
I think the themes – infidelity after a
long marriage, love, deceit, betrayal and hope - are universal and could touch
any one of us.
Are experiences based on someone you know
or events in your own life?
No – it’s all a product of my feverish and
overactive imagination.
What books have most influenced your life?
I have always enjoyed the books of Daphne
Du Maurier and Sidney Sheldon. I love how they can create an atmosphere with
just a few sentences and how their characters are often not quite how they
seem.
If you had to choose, which writer would
you consider a mentor?
Daphne du Maurier – I think her ability to
create a sense of place and her memorable characters would make her a wonderful
mentor.
What book are you reading now?
What’s My Motivation by Michael Simkins – a
lighthearted look at the life of a jobbing actor.
Are there any new authors that have grabbed
your interest?
The Widow by Fiona Barton is next on my To
Be Read pile.
What are your current projects?
I have a romantic cosy mystery novella, The
Tregelian Hoard, coming out in September this year. It will be the first in my
Cornish Intrigue Series and my next full length commercial women’s fiction
novel, White Lies, will be released in June 2017.
What would you like my readers to know?
The Flower Seller will make an excellent
summer beach read.
AUTHOR LINKS
GIVEAWAY
I like the cover and the sound the book.
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