Tag Archives: Sheryl Browne

A completely new look for the lovely @SherylBrowne’s fabulous books!

Posted on July 10, 2014 | 10 comments

It’s my extraordinary pleasure today to welcome back to my blog the one and only Sheryl Browne. As you’re about to see, Sheryl’s a fantastic (and prolific!) author. And she’s also a wonderful friend and roomie unbelievably tolerant of other people’s (read: my) insomniac and slightly inebriated foibles. She’s a fabulous listener, a great cheerer-onner, and an all-round wonderful person. So when I discovered that all of her book covers had a bit of a stunning makeover, I invited Sheryl to come over here and do a bit of shouting. She’s too modest, you see, Sheryl is. She doesn’t like shouting about herself. But I got her, and here she is… give up for

Sheryl Browne!

Hi Nicky! Thank you for inviting me onto your beautiful, rocking blog and huge CONGRATULATIONS on the release of your delicious new book, Fallen for Rock! I tell you what, looking at that gorgeous cover, I could.

Talking of covers, Nicky has kindly allowed me to take up blog space and show off my very own re-vamped covers from Safkhet Publishing. Without further ado then, here we go … ta-dah!

  cover spread jpg

So, what am I all about? I think the recently released Birmingham City University Anthology, I am therefore I Write (in which I’m proud to say a first scene from my play, Life Class, was published), sums me up. I think Nicky would concur that the writer’s life is a frenetic one, juggling many humungous balls. Occasionally, we drop one and get squished. But we always come back fighting, because to an author, writing is simply as important as breathing. It might not buy us a holiday home in the Bahamas, or even Bognor, but it’s our life blood. We simply wouldn’t know how to be without it. A little bit madder, possibly, which brings me to one of my books, A Little Bit of Madness, from which my stage-play, Life Class, was written. The first scenes, excitingly, have already been work-shopped on stage at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and, I have to say, I was rather gobsmacked when I realised my leading man was Dan Hagley, who plays Darrell Makepeace in BBC Radio 4’s, The Archers. My claim to fame! He was fabulous. I can’t thank him enough for his inspirational performance.

Generally, my aim is to bring readers poignant modern fiction. Taking a slight detour from my usual humorous, stories, my latest release is a thriller, which, quoting a fabulous review from Crime Fiction Lover “is well on the romantic spectrum of crime fiction”. No, I haven’t changed genres. My attempt is still to write edgy, humorous, heart-wrenching fiction for people’s enjoyment. I’m more exploring – as ever – the fragility of love, life and relationships. My books will always tend to turn around the family unit, looking at family dynamics and the tenuous bonds that hold people together, usually having a strong, but flawed, male lead. I think The Edge of Sanity, having at its heart a family torn apart by tragedy, does fall into that category.

And that’s enough about me! I leave you with my taglines, which might give you a flavour of the content behind the covers and also (because I couldn’t resist) a little peek at my heroes from Learning to Love and Warrant for Love. A girl has to dream.

Dr David Adams

Policemen

Keep safe.

Lots of love,

Sheryl

 Sheryl’s Books

(…and they’re hilarious, heart-warming, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. Well worth a read. Sorry, couldn’t resist throwing that in! I’ll shut up now! ~Nicky)

Recipes for Disaster – Sexilicious Romantic Comedy combined with Fab, Fun Recipes.

Somebody to Love –Sigh with contentment, scream with frustration. At times you will weep.

Warrant for Love – Three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly.

A Little Bit of Madness – White Knight in Blue rescues The Harbour Rest Home.

Learning to Love – Exploring the Fragility of Love, Life and Relationships.

The Edge of Sanity – How far would YOU go to protect your family?

Aren't they gorgeous? Well worth a closer look, my friends! Go on. Don't be shy!

Aren’t they gorgeous? Well worth a closer look, my friends! Go on. Don’t be shy!

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, a little Ohhhh la la! and thrills! Sheryl Browne brings you poignant, witty modern romance. A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for Innovation in Romantic Fiction, Sheryl now has six books published with Safkhet Publishing.

Find, follow and stalk  Sheryl here…

 Sheryl’s Website  / Safkhet Publishing  / Amazon.co.uk  / Amazon.com

Author Facebook  / Romantic Novelists’ Association

Sheryl is a Loveahappyending Lifestyle Author and Feature Editor.  Twitter: @sherylbrowne

Go on. What are you waiting for?

Thank you for visiting today, Sheryl, I’m so glad you could make it. 🙂 Rock on!

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CentreStage with @SherylBrowne: Just A Little Bit of Madness!

Posted on March 5, 2013 | 22 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!

CS_Logo

CentreStage features fantastic authors from around the world. These authors might tell you about their writing, their lives, hobbies, adventures or sleepless nights. Or about a litle bit of madness here and there! Today, it is my enormous pleasure to welcome the lovely, quirky and quite outstanding Sheryl Browne.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Sheryl in person on several occasions, and I can tell you, there’s no one chattier, warmer, more welcoming and more entertaining. Sheryl, it’s an honour to have you here today and I’ll hand the floor over to you now… Take it away!

Celebrating Sheryl’s
FOURRTH Book Launch

Hi Nicky!

Thank you so much for inviting me along today and helping me launch A Little Bit of Madness, my fourth book published by Safkhet Publishing!

Rather than waffle on – as I tend to, with Nicky’s kind permission, I’ve included a blurb and brief excerpt below.  I do hope you enjoy!

A Little Bit of Madness

Cover Front

No rest for the wicked
Saving Charlton hall will burrow into your heart.

Celia Summers, intrepid mother of two, is too cuddly for sweatpants, she suspects. But then, her class at The Harbour Rest Home are similarly clad. Celia loves her work as an art therapist. She’s proud that she gives her elderly independents something to look forward to, even if her partner, Martin, disapproves of her efforts. He also has other things on his mind – telling complicated lies to Celia so he can sell Charlton Hall, his mum’s house, to pay off his debts.

Meanwhile, Celia fights to secure gallery space for her geriatric charges’ artwork, and to keep The Harbour from being closed. She’s even ready to abseil from a church steeple to bring attention to the plight of her old people, no matter that she might fall and end up splattered all over the flagstones. When she does fall, however, it’s much more painful – in love with PC Alex Burrows. Will he be her white-knight-in-blue and ride to her rescue?

A Little Bit of a Mad Excerpt….

‘I wasn’t talking about the Porsche owner.’ Celia glanced at the driver, who, competing with an idling bus in the next lane, revved his engine even louder. ‘I was talking about PC Plod. What’s he doing?’

‘His duty, I believe,’ Eleanor informed her. ‘He’s just told Annie White he’ll have to charge her with causing an obstruction.’

‘Jobs-worth,’ Celia huffed. He could look as exasperated as he liked, she wasn’t about to sympathise with someone who’d sided with the enemy.

‘Whoops-a-daisy. Now he’s looking a bit put out.  The colonel has just told him he’s not orf duty either and plonked himself down,’ Eleanor observed.

Uh, oh. Celia snuck a peek.

‘Da-ad.’ Alex pushed his cap back, exasperated. ‘Would you please stop this, before I’m in it up to my neck?’

‘No can do, lad. Sorry. Can’t let the chaps down. Wouldn’t be cricket.’

‘Christ, Dad, this isn’t cricket! It stopping traffic and it’s against the law.’

‘So should making people homeless be, m’boy. Can’t move, lad. Principle at stake, y’see?‘

‘And so is my bloody job! I have to move you on, Dad. Please?’

The colonel notched his chin up and stayed put.

‘Right,’ Alex sighed, running his hand over his neck and motioning to his partner. ‘Sorry, Dad,’ he said, as they heaved the colonel cross-legged from the road. ‘It’s my duty and all that.’

‘Damned outrage! Contravention of civil liberties!’ Colonel Burrows blustered.

‘No Dad, I think you’ll find preventing people from going about their business is a contravention of civil liberties.’ Alex gave Celia a disparaging glance as he “escorted” his father to a waiting police van.

Celia reciprocated and turned away, but quickly turned back as she heard Alex  mutter, ‘Ouch! Shit! May, for Christ’s sake!’

‘Unhand him,’ said May, beating Alex about the head with one removed trainer, whilst someone else did banner duty. ‘Put him down, I say, sir, or I shall … ’

Celia blinked astonished as May, having failed to deter Alex from removing the colonel with her lethal weapon, resorted to the use of another. ‘Oh, God, she’s going to bite him.’

‘Gum him, you mean.’ Eleanor placed a hand over her eyes.

Celia placed one over her mouth. Don’t let him drop the colonel, she prayed as May, in the absence of teeth, pinched Alex instead.

‘Jesus.’ Alex winced. So did Celia and Eleanor. ‘That had to hurt,’ said Celia.

‘Definitely,’ said Eleanor. ‘Delicate area, that.’

‘I’ve had just about enough of this,’ Alex growled as he returned from depositing his protesting father in the police van. ‘May, that was below the belt!’ May, who’d trotted over to join Eleanor and Celia, flushed from her cheeks to her now bare feet. ‘Assaulting an officer of the law is—’

‘Against the law,’ Eleanor suggested helpfully.

Alex glared at her. ‘A criminal offence.’

‘Ooh, smouldering eyes,’ Eleanor swooned. ‘Doesn’t he look gorgeous when he’s angry?’

Alex ignored her and turned to May. ‘Patrol car, May.’ He nodded her towards his car. ‘Sit in it, and stay in it.’

‘Oh, lovely.’ May trotted off, happy as a lark. ‘I do love flashing lights,’ she said, climbing into the patrol car—then neatly out the other side.

‘God give me strength!’ Alex threw his cap on the ground, then raced after her. Winifred Bailey though, had other ideas. ‘Gotcha,’ she smiled triumphantly, sticking Alex with her knitting needle. ‘That should teach you to pick on someone your own size.’ She went back to her knitting, as Alex fell over clutching his thigh.

‘Oh my God!’ Celia made to leap up.

‘Stay,’ Eleanor instructed her. ‘He’s all right. He’s up on all fours.’

Celia looked at her, appalled. ‘Eleanor, how can you be so heartless? He might be bleeding to death. He might have tetanus.’

‘Years of practice,’ said Eleanor. ‘He’s not bleeding to death. He’s up and limping and he can get a shot for the latter.’

‘I’m sure he’ll feel much better for knowing it,’ Celia muttered, and snuck another glance at him. Oh Lord, poor Alex. ‘He is limping quite badly, Eleanor,’ she said, chewing on her lower lip.

‘Tough. He shouldn’t have entered the fray, should he? In any case,  Alex and his uniformed chums  started the fray, so I wouldn’t waste too much energy feeling sorry for him, if I were you.’

‘No. No, I won’t.’ Celia went back to reciting reasons why she shouldn’t feel sorry for him. He’d been horrible about Martin—again. There were a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t dash over to make sure he was all right.

Well, one anyway. He was a great strapping man. He wasn’t going to be felled by a knitting needle.

No, she wouldn’t go to him. Her loyalties lay here where she sat. Her chin jutted defiantly as she sat a bit firmer, and a bit colder.

‘Oh dear,’ Eleanor said, keeping her up to speed, ‘he’s looking embarrassed now. Annie White’s just told his partner if he’s intending to have it away with her, he’ll have to handcuff her first. Don’t look now, but I think our knight in tarnished armour is coming over to have it away with us, if you’ll excuse the expression. But of course, you’re not looking, are you?’ She noted the blush to Celia’s cheek. ‘Or talking? He’s obviously playing havoc with your emotions.’

‘I beg your … ’ Celia blushed scarlet. ‘He is not.’

‘Hmm? I beg to differ, Celia, but I think he must be.’ Eleanor sat up straighter as Alex got nearer.

‘I don’t have any feelings for Alex! Well, not those kind of feelings.’ Celia caught a glimpse of blue serge and sat up straight alongside Eleanor. ‘I just—’

‘Nor he for you by the look on his face. Miserable I’d call him, a man torn asunder by conflicting emotions. He’s in denial, of course. Could never admit, with his troubled past and you about to marry Martin, that he—’

‘Eleanor, shut up!’ Celia hissed as Alex cast a shadow over them.

Eleanor did as bid, eyeing Celia with some sort of private satisfaction. ‘Alex!’ she exclaimed, ‘how unlovely to see you. Is it our turn to be carried off by you?’

‘Must be your lucky day.’ Alex crouched in front of Celia, a smile playing about his mouth despite wounds to his body and pride. ‘Ladies, would you do you me the honour of allowing me to escort you to the pavement?’

‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ Celia growled. She folded her arms, adamant she wouldn’t be moved, emotionally or otherwise. ‘Bugger off, Alex.’

‘Your wish is my command,’ Alex sighed and stood up. ‘As soon as I’ve done my job. Celia, you either walk to the pavement or you get carried to the police van. It’s your call.’

‘Do you know something,’ she said, ignoring Alex in favour of talking to Eleanor, ‘I think he’s the limit.’ She nodded towards the guy in the Porsche who was now leaning on his horn. Probably got an ultra-important meeting to get to, she seethed quietly. Far more important to the future of the world than people who hadn’t got much of a future and would probably be better off dead anyway. ‘Right,’ she said, getting to her feet.

‘Good decision,’ Alex said, relieved.

‘I think it’s about time I showed the heckler-horn-blower my placard up close.’

‘Not.’ Alex tugged in a terse breath as Celia strode past him. ‘Jesus Christ! Celia, come back!’

About Sheryl Browne

Sheryl Photo

Sheryl Browne grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. A partner in her own business, a mother and a foster parent to disabled dogs, Sheryl has also been writing for many years, the road along the way often bumpy.  She was therefore thrilled beyond words when Safkhet Publishing loved her writing style and commissioned her to write her debut novel.

RECIPES FOR DISASTER – combining deliciously different and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, is garnering some fabulous reviews and was shortlisted for the Innovation in Romantic Fiction Festival of Romance Award.  Sheryl has since been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint.

SOMEBODY TO LOVE, a romantic comedy centring around a single father’s search for love and his autistic little boy, launched July 1, 2012

WARRANT FOR LOVE, Blackmail, lies, adultery, entrapment – three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly – released August 1, 2012

A LITTLE BIT OF MADNESS –White Knight in Blue rescues the Harbour Rest Home – releases Valentine’s Day 2013.

LINKS: Sheryl’s Website ~ Safkhet Publishing ~ Amazon.co.uk ~ Amazon.com ~ Author Facebook  ~ Romantic Novelists’ Association ~ Sheryl is a loveahappyending featured Author and Editor ~ Twitter: @sherylbrowne

Thank you, Sheryl, this is simply awesome. Dear reader, having read Shery’s previous books, I am totally looking forward to reading this latest masterpiece and I can guarantee you you’re in for a fabulous ride.

Celia and Alex ~ where do you see them going? And where does the madness come in? Share your thoughts…

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My Romantic Novelists’ Association Party Debut

Posted on November 23, 2012 | 9 comments

“The life of a romantic novelists appears to be one ongoing party.” Or so a friend commented when I confessed I was off to my winter ‘works do’ in London last Wednesday. (Yes, I mean the Romantic Novelists’ Association Winter Party held at the IMECE in London on 21 November 2012!!)

“We have our moments,” I replied. Swallowing thoughts of long hours spent chained to my desk, typing away in my cold office, battling my way through edits and proofs, concepts, first drafts, second drafts, hundred-and-thirteenth drafts and so on. Of course, battling is an overstatement but… you know what I mean!

Anyway, a writer’s life can be lonely and overwhelming so occasions like the RNA Winter Party are merely a just equalizer, a chance to meet friends and let your hair down. Too right!

Here are a few photos of my debut RNA outing!

Glamming up and getting in the mood ~ with Mandy Baggot and Sheryl Browne!

Oh, looking a bit whited-out. Try again (said the photo-taker) and go in the middle, Nicky.

Happy to oblige! (With Anna Bell, Jan Bridgen and Mandy Baggot but having lost Sue Fortin somehow!)

Apparently, authors say ‘Whiskey’, not cheese. See, I learned something!

Meet the crew: Mandy, Sue and Sheryl!

Circle of pain. Whose feet hurt the most? Whose shoes are the worst torture instruments? I reckon mine, but Mandy did go barefoot for longest. Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Sue Fortin, Jan Bridgen, Mandy Baggot, myself and Sheryl Browne.

Ok, ladies, you can take them off now…

Mandy: “Where’s my phone?”
Sheryl: “Where are my keys?”
Mandy: “Are you hungry?”
Nicky (from the sideline): “We are taking a taxi, right?”
Sheryl: “Shall we get some dinner?”
Mandy: “I’m not walking.”
Sheryl: “Is it time go go?”
Mandy: “Where’s my phone?”
(We took a taxi back to the hotel, and we had a lovely snack-cum-dinner in the bar until almost midnight, and no more walking was done!)

The company was excellent. The canapes were delicious. Conversation sparkled. Time flew by. Until next time, my friends!

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I Came, I Saw, I Conquered… and I Sang: Rocking the Festival of Romance

Posted on November 21, 2012 | 36 comments

What can I say? It was AWESOME. I have a million photos of the amazing Festival of Romance last weekend. Not all of them came out too well owing to some very pink lighting… but here are the highlights. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard/seen: I sang. Yup, my friends, I sang a bit of a favourite rock song to introduce my reading of Sophie’s Turn. And to prove it… there’s videographic evidence!

Friday night:
Romance and Award Gala

Getting ready to party with my room-mate, Sheryl Browne

Carol Wyer, Linn Halton, me and Kim Maya Sutton waiting for our dinner

The Romaniacs!!!

C’mon, shake a leg!

Give it up for Lady B and her amazing award!!

Ole! Photo courtesy of the lovely Sheryl Browne ~ thank you!

Me and my writing buddy, the lovely Sue Fortin! (And yes, those are magic hands!)

The Romance Fair

Loveahappyending.com ~ we’re here, for sure!

Ooooh, and look at our romance shelf! AWESOME!

UK Sapphire Star Publishing Sisters ~ having a fantabulous time!

…and there were random skits, of the Regency persuasion. Fantastic! They kissed!

Delighted to finally meet my Twitter and FB friend, Joanne Phillips….

… as well as fabulous reviewer and blogger friend, Dizzy (aka Carol Wright)…

…and the wonderful Talli Roland!

The Rock Star Party!!

Mandy, Sheryl and I ~ ready to rock!

Hooray! Connecting with outstanding blogger and super-strategic writer, the one and only Morgen Bailey.

Kate Allan, Festival organiser extraordinaire, reading at the Rock Star party

And finally… I couldn’t help myself. I had to sing!

I didn’t know I would burst into song when I picked up the mic at the afternoon reading. Honest! It just… happened.

…and here’s me, doing the same thing again at the Rock Star party at Rock City Art. Oh yeah! Photo courtesy of Linn Halton ~ thank you, sweetie!

Don’t believe me? See for yourself!

Video clip courtesy of Morgen Bailey: thank you for recording, uploading and sharing. You rock!

So here’s to next year: let’s do it again, baby!

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Sign, Author, Sign

Posted on October 21, 2012 | 44 comments

Yesterday saw another first in this, my year of authorly firsts. I hosted my first meet-the-author and book signing event. Hooray!

A few weeks ago, I connected with my local librarian, the lovely Karen Waring, and she was extremely enthusiastic about the idea of hosting a local author in one of her libraries, complete with book signing event. We picked a date (20 October) and a place (Welton Library, in Welton-by-Lincoln) and even set a time (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.). We were on!

Both of us set to work publicising the event and yesterday morning, I presented myself at 9:50 a.m. to set up shop.

Was I nervous? Of course I was a little nervous. One worry was simply: would anyone turn up? And the second worry was: how would people feel about being invited to buy a book in a library, where they normally come to loan their reading material?

Well, here’s how it went.

Setting Up Shop

Books ~ check. Postcards ~ check. Bookmarks ~ check. Tasty treat ~ check. Visual hooks ~ check (1 book standing up, 1 big poster).

Taking a closer look… yes, I think this is good. Spy the fancy bookmark in the upright copy? This was a publication day present from two very special people and doesn’t it just add panache to the ensemble?

I’m ready… I think!

A big Thank You to my amazing loveahappyending friend, Sheryl Browne. I owe most of the ideas for this display, specifically the visual hooks, getting a copy of my book to stand upright, and the absolute need for a table-cloth (!) to a stellar blogpost she wrote on book signings on the Romaniacs blog. Sheryl, it worked!

The Quiet Before the Storm…

Meet the librarian: give it up for Karen!

Caught sharing a laugh off camera…  Having fun already.

A huge Thank You to Karen for her amazing enthusiasm and stellar support. It is outstanding to have a library working so hard at creating a real sense of community and at bringing authors and readers together. I feel honoured and privileged to have made friends and I look forward to many more book signings in libraries up and down the county (and beyond?). You rock!

Thank you also, of course, to Karen’s fellow librarian, Jo, for helping set up, directing people my way, taking photos, printing photos, making cups of tea and generally keeping things ticking over. You ladies are a brilliant team!

…And Action!

Yes! Readers came! My first visitor arrived at just a few minutes after 10 a.m. Witness: my first author signature in a newly-purchased reader’s copy of Sophie’s Turn. Awesome feeling!

That was fun. Let’s have another go…

Of course I’ll sign another!

Meet Some of My Guests

Honestly, I had no idea this would be so much fun! Thank you to everybody who agreed to have their photo taken and let me post it right here on my blog.

And the Verdict?

Obviously, I had a lot of fun. Huge amounts of fun, in fact. I look forward to doing it all again.

Did people come? They certainly did. I barely had a moment’s rest during the three hours. I met some wonderful people and had some fantastically interesting conversations. It was amazing.

Did I sell and sign some books? You already know the answer to that. Yes, I sold some books. Not dozens, and dozens. But more than I dared hope.

Moreover, two of my guests took a copy of Sophie’s Turn out of the library there and then in addition to the copy that had already been borrowed earlier in the week.  There are copies in circulation! And as if that wasn’t enough, I’m told that two or three people requested a loan copy today so there is now a waiting list. My heart sings.

Lessons learned. Was it a perfect event? Probably not. Here’s what I will do differently next time.

1) I will have a proper stand for my huge visual.

2) Wherever possible, I will set myself up in direct line of vision (and walking) of the front entrance. The most important tool I had to draw people into conversation, apart from the librarians’ kind assistance, was eye contact. It’s easier to make eye contact if you’re unmissably in the line of sight; therefore, in future, I will put myself there.

3) I will print out and have available for perusing some of the fabulous reviews that Sophie’s Turn has received. This will get me around the uncomfortable moment of reassuring potential readers that of course Sophie’s Turn is a fantastic read. Instead of bragging, I can just let the reviews do their work. Easy, and obvious (hindsight is always 20-20!).

So this was it. My inaugural book signing event. I am elated, excited and exhausted. I feel very fortunate to have had my first signing event in such a lovely and supportive environment, and with such enthusiastic hosts.

I hope everyone who bought or borrowed my book will enjoy it and spread the word. Thank you. And I look forward to the next event… Karen has some places and dates in mind, and I am in her extremely capable hands.

Rock On! 🙂

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CentreStage with Sheryl Browne: Ode to reviewers and supporters

Posted on August 22, 2012 | 11 comments

Welcome to the latest edition of CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases talented and exciting authors from around the world. These authors might tell you about their writing, or their lives, or any subject that is dear to them. Today, the wonderful Sheryl Browne is visiting CentreStage for the second time. I think she had such a great time on her previous visit, she simply had to come back. I am honoured!

But alas! Sheryl is having a weird time on CentreStage today. I seem to have gone… funny. I usher Sheryl in with undue haste, shutting the door firmly beside her, stealing a surreptitious backwards glance down the corridor. ‘You know the score… over to you, Sheryl! Here’s the mic… off you go…’ Sheryl gives me a worried look but springs into action.

**Sheryl enters**

Ooh, I’m in the spotlight, again.  ‘Ta-dah!’  *Takes centre-stage*

‘Ahem, I’d like to start by… Oops, hold on.’  *Attempts to adjust microphone, which is currently eyebrow level.  Grunts and fiddles.  Microphone plummets to kneecap level.  Smiles sweetly, dips surreptitiously, yanks it back up and smacks self in the head*

‘Ahem…’ *Starts again, now a bit cross-eyed* ‘My husband and I… Whoops, no, wrong speech. Bear with me. Um,’

*Thinks, finger poised on chin* ‘Ah, yes, I’d like to start by saying thank you to all the lovely people who have…  Pardon?  Yes, I know, I’m not receiving an Oscar, Nicky.  Yes, I know your next guest is due.  I am trying to get on with it.  Honestly, if your stage props were up to par, sweetie, we wouldn’t have been delayed in the first place.  Humph!

‘Now, where was I?  Um? Right, yes.  I’d like to start by thanking all the people who have been so uber-supportive during my book launches, first and foremost, my fellow authors and friends at Loveahappyending.com’ *pauses to cast Nicky a pointed glance* ‘without whose guidance and constant encouragement, I would have possibly been swept away by the tidal wave that is Twitter, like a little speck of dust in cyberspace.  Yes, it is quite eloquent, isn’t it?  Thank you, Nicky.  Wha’d’y’mean: if a bit long-winded??’

*Glances miffily over at Nicky side-stage, points nose in air and turns back to audience*

‘I would also like to thank all the lovely readers who have bought my book, in particular readers and reviewers, who have gone to the trouble of posting up some fabulous reviews.  Without people who are prepared to give of their time to do that, writers who are struggling to make a name for themselves might possibly sink without trace.  Yes, Nicky, I know I’ve gone all poetic now.  Thank you for that.  Shhhut up!  I’m trying to be serious.  Wha’d’y’mean, I don’t do serious?  This is me, being serious!

‘I’ve lost the plot now.   Ah, yes, reviewers.  Seriously, if you…’ *microphone plops to ankle-level* ‘Do not utter a word, Nicky.  Yes, you are.  You’re tittering.  Stoppit.  Ahem! If you haven’t thanked your reviewers, do it now, profusely.  They’re quite partial to chocolates, I gather, preferably Belgian or Hotel Chocolat.  And wine, a nice chilled Chablis, possibly, or…  OK, now I’m not being serious.  The thing is they do it for FREE, in their own time. They have tbr piles up to their armpits and probably impaired vision because of it, so if you’ve given a reviewer a hard time, chasing or moaning, feel ashamed. Very, very ashamed.

‘Likewise, if you invite someone to take centre-stage on your blog and then give them a hard time! Will you please stop giggling, Nicky!  It’s putting me off!  Thank you!  I’d just like to end by… No, I did NOT bring a coat.  I’d just like to end by thanking Lovehappyending.com again, and all my Twitter and Facebook friends for their tremendous support.  Having two book launches quite close together has been a bit demanding promo-wise and I simply couldn’t have done it without you.  Also, Safkhet Publishing – THANK YOU – for helping me to get my books where they should be: out there for people to enjoy.  Comments are always truly appreciated.  Good comments more so, obviously, but the not so-good…  Well, you write, you learn.  Every little comment and piece of advice is always taken on board if you are…  All right.  All right. I’m going. Anyone would think you have someone important on next.  Honestly.’ *Turns to strop side-stage, passing next guest en route*

‘Hi JK.’

**Sheryl exits**

At this point, the door opens and I bustle in, bearing a tray with biscuits and two steaming cups of tea. ‘Here we are, Sheryl,’ I breeze, somewhat breathless. ‘Sorry it took so long, someone seemed to have been messing about in my kitchen… Sheryl? Sheryl?’

I catch sight of myself already in the room and drop the tray in dismay.  ‘Who are you?’ I shriek, fearfully. ‘And what have you done with the lovely Sheryl…?’ The impostor turns and flees. Well, I never. What was that all about? 

Let me tell you more: About the lovely, talented and unflappable Sheryl Browne

Now residing in Worcestershire, Sheryl grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs. Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, she has previously been published in the US and writes Romantic Comedy because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.”

Sheryl’s debut novel, RECIPES FOR DISASTER – combining deliciously different and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, is garnering some fabulous reviews! Sheryl has also been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint. SOMEBODY TO LOVE, a romantic comedy centring around a single policeman father’s search for love, his autistic little boy and the boy’s Autism Assistance Dog, launched July 1 with an immediate 5* review.  WARRANT FOR LOVE, bringing together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly, released August 1.

You can visit Sheryl on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter. Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a featured author with innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com.

Now for more about Sheryl’s recent double release…

Somebody to Love

How do you tell her?

After a turbulent marriage to a man who walked off hand-in-offshoot with something resembling a twig, divorced mum, Donna O’Conner, doubts happy endings exist. She’d quite like to find herself an Adonis with… pecs …and things. Alas, that’s not likely, when her only interest outside of work is hopping her three-legged dog in the park, carrying a poop-scoop. In any case, Donna isn’t sure she’d know what to do with an Adonis if she fell on one. When PC Mark Evans comes along, gloriously gift-wrapped in blue, however, she can’t help wishing she did.

Mark, a single father, is desperate for love. He doesn’t hold out much hope, though, that there is a woman out there with a heart big enough to love him and his autistic son. Enter big-hearted Donna, plus three-legged dog. And now Mark has a dilemma. Pretending not to mind her house-bunny chewing his bootlaces, he’s smitten with Donna on sight. Should he tell her his situation up-front? Announcing he has a child with autism spectrum disorder on a first date tends to ensure there isn’t a second. Or should he skirt around the subject, which amounts to a lie? When one lie leads to another, can he ever win Donna’s trust back? Admit that he didn’t trust Donna enough to let her into his life?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Somebody to Love has been made with love… love of animals. Sheryl Browne has done excellent research on assistance dogs, specifically their use with autistic individuals. With a focus on romance with police officers, appealing to all readers who love our boys in blue, the author’s “teasing but not telling” style makes this read appropriate for anyone, including young adults and older teens.

Somebody to Love is endorsed by Danemere Animal Rescue Centre and Our Dog Publications. Watch the video… and you can get the book directly from the publisher if you wish. Somebody to Love is also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Warrant for Love

It can’t get any worse, can it?

Leanne Curtis has shared more than her heart and her home with her womanising man. She’s shared her pin number. The scales are peeled painfully from her eyes when she spots female footprints on the inside windscreen of his car. Devastated, Leanne storms off into the night. He wasn’t going to pay her back when he sold his flat, his bolthole, his shag-pad, probably, the absolute…! Shivering on a street corner, Leanne comes up with a survival plan. She’s no choice. If she’s to keep her son in PS3s, Leanne needs a lodger.

Brought up in care, Police Constable Paul Davis doesn’t communicate well. On duty, he’s gloomily contemplating his impending divorce. His wife sleeping with his sergeant is not helping his morose mood. His sergeant has a history, and Paul needs to find somewhere decent to live in order to gain custody of his son, fast. And to keep his job. Wrongfully arresting Leanne Curtis for soliciting, he muses, whilst avoiding five-star-freezer looks from her friends, might not be the best way to do it.

Could fate have brought them together, though? Leanne needs a respectable lodger. Paul needs a home. One thing leads to another, and Paul can’t quite believe his luck. When a blackmail plot ~ cooked up by Leanne’s friends ~ threatens their budding relationship, however, is Paul compelled to uphold the law? Or will he risk everything to make sure Leanne’s abusive ex gets his comeuppance?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Warrant for Love is not your typical rom-com where only one gal gets the guy — Sheryl Browne brings together three couples in a twisting story that resolves perfectly. With a focus on romance with police officers, Warrant for Love appeals to all readers who love our boys in blue. Complex yet everyday relationship problems makes this read appropriate for young adults and older teens.

You can obtain Warrant for Love directly from the publisher, and from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Wow! What a post.  Love Shery’s humour and style. And an impostor on my blog stirring up trouble… it’s all fun and games over here at CentreStage!

Thanks for visiting again, Sheryl, and I promise next time I’ll have the tea ready, the stage set up and the premises searched for impostors. Maybe PC Paul Davis can help me…

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CentreStage with Sheryl Browne: Of Ships Captains and Swamp Monsters

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 45 comments

Welcome to CentreStage! What an amazing run of authors we’ve had of late… and the series continues to move from strength to strength!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular my fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my honour and my pleasure to host a fellow Loveahappyending.com author, the one and only Sheryl Browne! Welcome Sheryl!  Today, Sheryl writes about ships captains… and unappreciated swamp monsters!

Being a shy, retiring sort of person, I don’t normally like to be centre-stage, but as you’ve asked, I…  Oi, Nicky, shove over a bit!  You’re hogging the spotlight!  Humph.  Thank you.  *Turns good side to audience.*  Now, as I was saying, I don’t generally volunteer to be the main attraction, preferring to stay backstage as suited to my quiet disposition.

Launching into a new venture… in more than one sense!

I certainly would have preferred not to have been the main attraction on one of our recent boating expeditions.  You may, or may not know, because it’s possibly not that riveting, but my partner and I have decided on a major life-change, the idea not only to downsize, but to stop and smell the roses.

We are in the process of swapping this …

…for this!

Our new des res will actually be a luxury (all essentials included, as in plughole for hairdryer) narrow-boat, rather than a tugboat, but still some people might wonder if I haven’t taken leave of my senses. I’m wondering if I haven’t taken leave of my senses, particularly as he who fancies himself as ship’s captain apparently doesn’t notice whether the crew are on board.

My audience didn’t seem particularly moved either, when I plopped silently off the back of the boat into the murky depths of the water.

Captain Unaware doesn’t miss his crew…

Canal banks, you see, don’t have streetlights, a fact I pointed out to ship’s captain, as he deftly wedged our boat in between two correctly moored (as in, they still has the benefit of daylight to moor by) early-birds, shouting instructions to me to jump onto the bank with the mooring rope as he did so.  I did.  I missed.  I wasn’t missed.

I still hadn’t been noticed by my absence as I emerged from the water looking something akin to a swamp monster, nought to be seen for mud but the whites of my eyes.  My audience, three men discussing their day’s sailing, glanced over from their ringside seats on the boat behind us, and then had another sip of their lagers.

The captain, by this time, had managed to negotiate bank from boat, and was admiring the view, clueless, whilst waiting for me to hand him the rope.  I did.  At which point, brow furrowed in obvious concern, he leaned forward to wipe a splodge of mud – from the boat.  Otherwise, he didn’t bat an eye.  Nothing.  Not a flicker of an acknowledgement of my slimy predicament.  I was off his radar.

Taking the sensible way out (just)

Next crew’s job: to fetch mooring pin and mallet, in order for captain to undertake crucial task of securing boat (this job only to be undertaken by person competent enough to accomplish, i.e. someone with scouting experience).  Rather than hit him, possibly with both implements, I chose to bypass the possible murder weapons in favour of the shower.

Captain was still standing on the bank, rope in hand, as I emerged from the shower, cleaner, less pungent, and dressed in my jim-jams.   “Aren’t you going to pass me the mallet?” he asked, peering through the porthole, clearly perturbed.

“*!!*!*!#*!!”  I answered sweetly.

The clunk of the closing porthole shutters was echoed only by the hoot of an owl – and the hasty battening of hatches next door.

Moral of story.  If you are considering sailing off into the sunset by way of relaxing lifestyle-change, you might want to suggest to your man he ditches the captain’s hat, before you end up ditching the captain.  Glug, glug…………………………….

Sheryl, what an amazing story! I’m afraid to say that your humorous rendition of the mud monster experience had me in fits of laughter when you were probably looking for empathy.  But if you will make it sound so funny…..  Thanks for sharing this story, and now let’s find out more about you and your book.  Book first!

Recipes for Disaster
The shortest way to a man’s heart

Mix romantic comedy and step-by-step cooking instructions. Bake at 200 degrees for an entertaining read and handy guide.

She’s a single. He’s a widower. She wants him. He wants her. She wants to impress. So does he. There’s just one catch – she can’t cook. To get him, she needs to get past the big fish – his mother. Lucky her, she’s got an Ace up her sleeve and all she’s got to do is impress this one time. Bad luck, though, her new guy can’t cook either, her dog Rambo is on the loose and now they’ve got to pull off the big lunch at the club. Will it be a match made in heaven? Will they be able to pull off a culinary miracle? Will their combined efforts result in love at first bite? Or is it simply a Recipe for Disaster?

Recipes for Disaster is available in paperback and Kindle format, and you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com,  any local bookstore, or direct from Safkhet Publishing

And now let’s find out more about the lovely Sheryl Browne:

Sheryl grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs.

Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. A full member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, she has previously been published in the US and writes Romantic Comedy because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.”

Sheryl’s new novel, RECIPES FOR DISASTER, combining delicious and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, has just been released by Safkhet Publishing. Sheryl has also been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint.  SOMEBODY TO LOVE will be published July 1st 2102.

You can visit Sheryl on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter.  Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a featured author with innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com. 

Sheryl, this has simply been the most fantastic tale on CentreStage, thank you so much for sharing. I like your style and I adore your sense of humour.

And now it’s over to you, dear reader. Personally, I think Sheryl was remarkably restrained in her management of her misadventure.  What would YOU have done, had you been in her shoes… sorry, mud?

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