Love Letter Convention, Berlin June 2019

Back in June I was lucky enough to go back to the Love Letter Convention in Berlin, it's a fabulous romance focused convention that always has about 40 different authors. Obviously as it's organised by German publishers a lot of those authors are German, and unfortunately a lot of them don't have books translated into English which is disappointing when you hear someone talking about a story that sounds fabulous, but they always have some international authors there too from places like the UK, America and even Australia and they have a range of panels as well as meet and greets in English so international readers are made to feel welcome.

I wish UK publishers would organise something similar in London because it has such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere and you really get the chance to spend time with the authors and chat. I think because there are less English speaking readers at the convention those panels are always less crowded than the German speaking ones which is definitely a bonus for me too.

I have to admit the main reason I wanted to go this year was to meet up with a group of friends I have from all around Europe, most of whom I met at LLC a couple of years ago. We've stayed in contact ever since in a WhatsApp group (isn't technology wonderful!) and this was a great chance for us all to meet up again and spend the weekend together. Sadly one member of the group couldn't make it but we still had a fabulous time.

Me with Aly, Karin, Peggy (back row), Freya & Diana

(There are actually 6 different countries represented in this group: Austria, Belgium, 

England, Germany, The Netherlands & Romania, which I think is brilliant)

I have to confess that I was rubbish at taking notes in any of the panels so I can't really give you any info about what we all talked about. Instead this post will be more of a photo diary that I can look back on to remind me of the highlights!

Day 1:

We had an early start on day 1 to get to Cafe Moskau and register but it was worth it, the queues were already forming even before 8am and it only got worse after we arrived.

Diana & Freya with Ella Quinn

Getting there early meant we had even had time to hang out with author Ella Quinn in the courtyard before the first events even started. I love Ella's historical romances so it was great to meet her.

Clockwise from top left: Julie Cohen, Diana & Peggy with L.J. Shen, 

Aly with Kerrelyn Sparks, Cathy Maxwell & Freya

Our first stop was a Blind Date where you get a chance to chat with a whole bunch of different authors, almost like speed dating as they move around the room every 15 minutes or so. We got to talk to Julie Cohen, L.J. Shen, Kerrelyn Sparks and Cathy Maxwell. As a huge paranormal romance fan I was really excited to meet Kerrelyn but I've also fallen in love with Cathy's historical romances recently.

Next was a panel with Ella Quinn, Kerrelyn Sparks, Jenny Colgan, Dani Atkins and Monica James where they all talked about how they first started writing and ended up getting published.

Next was another panel with Helena Hunting, Cathy Maxwell and Lara Adrian. If you've been following my blog for any length of time at all you'll know that Lara is one of my favourite authors so I was ridiculously excited to get the chance to see her again and I also really like Helena's contemporary romances so that was an extra bonus.

Top Row: Kerrelyn Sparks, Karin & Ella Quinn

Bottom Row: Jenny Colgan & Freya

Next up was another Blind Date, this time with Kerrelyn Sparks, Ella Quinn and Jenny Colgan.

After lunch was a panel with Julia K Stein, Ella Quinn, Cathy Maxwell, Mona Silver & Monica James.

Top Row: Lara Adrian & Monica James

Bottom Row: T.M. Frazier & her husband

Another Blind Date, this time with Lara Adrian, Monica James and T.M. Frazier. I've not read any of Monica or Tracey's books yet but they're both so funny that I definitely want to in the future.

Lara Adrian and me

I took a break from panels after that to spend an hour hanging out with Lara as she signed autographs for fans. I'd taken about 13 of her books with me so that took a while but we also got to chat in between her signing for other fans which was really fab.

Ella Quinn & Cathy Maxwell

The last event of the day was a Q&A with Ella Quinn and Cathy Maxwell. They both write fantastic historical romances but while Ella really focuses on getting every historical detail right Cathy is a little more relaxed about that as long as she's happy with the characters and the story.

Cathy Maxwell, Gwen Overland, Aly, Ella Quinn & me

In the evening Aly and I got to attend a blogger event organised by the LLC team. We didn't end up staying for long as it was mainly aimed at German bloggers but we did get to meet Gwen Overland and hang out with her, Cathy Maxwell, Ella Quinn.

Day 2:

Lara Adrian & Kerrelyn Sparks

We had a bit of a lay in the second day as we didn't have to be there super early for registration. The first panel was with Lara Adrian & Kerrelyn Sparks so it was all about paranormal romance and their mutual love of vampires. Definitely my kind of panel LOL.

The next panel was with Lara Adrian, Helena Hunting, Gwen Overland, Monica James and Cathy Maxwell. I can't really remember what they talked about but I do know that Cathy was in charge of asking the questions and we spent practically the whole hour laughing. I even had a chance to chat with Helena for a few minutes afterwards which was great as I've been a fan of hers since I read the Clipped Wings series years ago.

Helena Hunting & me

Kerrelyn Sparks & Ella Quinn

Next we got to listen to Kerrelyn Sparks and Ella Quinn reading from one of their books, Kerrelyn chose to read from one of the early Love at Stake books while Ella read from her upcoming release in the Worthingtons series.

Next was a workshop with Cathy Maxwell and Kerrelyn Sparks where we all spent time discussing the characteristics we look for in our heroes and heroines and how that sometimes differs when it comes to fiction compared to in real life.

Aly, Karin, Peggy, Freya & me with Cathy Maxwell

The final panel we went to was with Kerrelyn Sparks, Bianca Iosivoni, Mona Kasten, Inka Loreen Minden, Mona Silver and Lara Adrian.

Me, Aly, Cathy Maxwell, Ella Quinn & Freya

We just had time for a final chat with Cathy Maxwell and Ella Quinn before the afternoon signing session started. Most of the authors only have German books with them so I don't usually bother going to the signing. Especially since we had all managed to get the books we'd brought with us signed over the rest of the convention. Kerrelyn Sparks and Ella Quinn both had English books with them though so we braved the very, very long queues in the awful heat and came away with some new books for our efforts.

Later that evening, after the convention had finished we all went out to dinner at a restaurant near where we were staying and funnily enough Cathy Maxwell and Kerrelyn Sparks ended up there too with their husbands. We had a laugh about how they had started stalking us for a change and took a few pictures before we all enjoyed our meals.

So that was my experiences of LLC this year and we had a brilliant time. It was fab to catch up with friends, we had a lot of fun with the authors we met and we all came home with a mountain of books added to our wish lists. Sounds like a winning weekend to me!

Headline Blogger Party - 13th May 2011

A couple of weeks ago I was very excited to get to go to Headline towers for their blogger party.  Headline were the first publisher that contacted me about reviewing for them so it was so nice to finally meet Sam & Maura who I have been talking to by email & on twitter for over a year now.  Before the event I met up with Viv (Serendipity) and Michelle (Clover Hill Book Reviews) and after working out where the Headline offices were we decided to walk to Foyles for a little book shopping.  It ended up being much further than we thought it would be which didn't give us much time for browsing before we had to head back but we had a great time nattering about books as we walked!

Michelle & Viv outside of Headline Towers

We arrived back at the building along with a massive group of other bloggers (I've tried to include links to everyone at the bottom of the post but please let me know if you were there & I missed you!).  The event was held on the 16th floor and I completely missed the security guard's warning and ended up travelling in the glass elevator.  I'm sure the views were amazing but being scared of heights I spent most of my time with my head buried on Viv's shoulder and couldn't get out of there fast enough!  I was definitely more careful to pick a lift without a view on the way back down again lol.

Jenna Burtenshaw & Cathy Brett

When we arrived in the conference room we got to mingle with each other, the Headline staff and some of Headline's top authors - Cathy Brett, Jenna Burtenshaw, Jonathan L Howard, Julie Cohen, Jill Mansell, Julia Crouch and Geraint Anderson (also known as Cityboy).  Everyone was so friendly and it was lovely to spend time talking with them all.  I finally got to meet Laura from Book Chick City which was great, I've spent so long chatting to her on Twitter that I already felt like I knew her but it is always so nice to put faces to names.  I'd met quite a few of the other bloggers before so it was good to catch up with them & as always it was nice to see some new faces and discover some fab new blogs to follow!

Headline had created a great video showing some of their current & upcoming releases, they publish a wide range of genres from historical, women's fiction and YA through to crime and thrillers (and many more besides!).  I hadn't realised quite how many different things they had on their lists and there are definitely some books I can't wait to get my hands on!  It would take too long to list all of the books that were mentioned but here are a few of the ones I'm really excited about:

An epic, richly inventive, historically sweeping, magical romance.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...

I've had Discovery of Witches on my wish list for ages now but after hearing how enthusiastic the team were about it I know I definitely need to buy myself a copy!

Meet Jud Lester: Star agent with CRYPT, the Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team.

When a crime is committed and the police are at a loss, CRYPT is called in to figure out whether something paranormal is at work. Jud is their star agent.

Jud, unwillingly paired with new recruit Bex, has just landed his biggest case yet ... people have been disappearing in mysterious circumstances while others are viciously attacked - yet there are no suspects and a complete lack of hard evidence. The only thing that links each attack is the fact that survivors all claim that the culprits were 17th century highwaymen.

Can Jud and Bex work out what has caused the spirits of these dangerous men to return to the streets of London before they wreak more death and destruction?

A fantastic blend of teenage spies, horror and ghost-busting for fans of Cherub and Young Bond.

Crypt sounds like it is going to be a fantastic YA read, it reminded me a little of Department 19 and even if it's only half as good it will be amazing!  Definitely one to watch out for when it's released in September.

The first in Heather Killough-Walden's fantastic new paranormal series, THE LOST ANGELS, features Uriel, the Angel of Vengeance

Four thousand years ago, four archangels were cast down to Earth in human form. God's favourites, they came to find their mates, the other half of their souls made only for them, without whom they will ever be complete.

Uriel, Gabriel, Azrael and Michael, however, were not alone. They were followed by another, determined to find the archesses for himself, and whose power cannot be underestimated. But after centuries of fruitless searching, the archangels - and their enemy - have all but given up hope.

Until one day beautiful and gifted Eleanore Granger crosses paths with Uriel, the Angel of Vengeance. And as a storm rages, outside forces conspire together, initiating an age old battle of good versus evil to win the first archess.

Now Avenger's Angel looks right up my street and I can't wait to get my hands on it!  I'm even more excited that it's the first book in a new series - the only disappointment is having to wait until November for it to be released!

Another book mentioned that I'm really looking forward to reading was called Pure and is a YA dystopian that is being released in 2012.  Headline have big plans for this one and I'm sure it's one we'll be seeing a lot of!

After watching the video it was time for a quiz masterminded by evil quiz masters Sam & Maura.  Luckily we were put into teams or I'd have completely embarrassed myself - the questions were HARD!  I was on a team with Cathy Brett, Naomi (who was interning with Headline), Darren (The Book Zone) and Matt (Teen Librarian) and I dread to think how low our score was, Matt was on a role for the science fiction questions but we left a lot of blank spaces in the other rounds.  It may have been an epic fail but our team had a lot of fun anyway :o)

After the quiz Headline let us help ourselves to the latest releases for each of the authors who were present and we were able to get our copies signed for us.  I came home with a great selection of books & I'm looking forward to reading them all, the only trouble is deciding where to start!  Here are cover images and a synopsis for each of them (information was all found on the Headline website):

Kate has escaped the clutches of the High Council and Silas has left Albion for the continent. But their lives are forever linked and as the veil weakens, causing Albion's skilled to fear for everyone's safety, Silas and Kate find themselves drawn together by the mysterious and corrupt Dalliah Grey

This is the second book in the Wintercraft series and I loved the first book (you can read my review of Wintercraft here) so I can't wait to find out what happens next!  Luckily I'd remembered to take my copy of Wintercraft with me so I was able to get them both signed by Jenna (who was absolutely lovely by the way and just how I'd imagined she would be from speaking to her on Twitter!)

You're dead Scarlett...

Previously a poor taste jibe from school frenemies, now a statement of fact.

Scarlett is absolutely mortified (in more ways than one) to discover that she's accidentally killed herself while trying to get out of a school trip. Even worse, she's taken her entire family with her.

Life as a ghost is pretty dull - if only some of her friends were dead too...

I've already read this one and absolutely love all the pictures and different text effects that are used throughout the book.  Keep an eye out for my review that will be coming soon.

Johannes Cabal is back - a little older, a little wiser, but just as sharply funny, cuttingly sarcastic, and unexpectedly violent as ever.

For necromancer Johannes Cabal, dealing with devils, demons and raising the dead is pretty much par for the course. But when his attempt to steal a rare book turns sour, he is faced by a far more terrifying entity - politics. While awaiting execution for his crime, Cabal is forced to resurrect an inconveniently deceased emperor. Seizing his chance, the cunning Cabal engineers his escape, fleeing the country on a state-of-the-art flying ship. But the ship has more than a few unpleasant surprises, including an unwelcome face from the past and the small matter of some mysterious murders. Cabal may work with corpses but he has absolutely no intention of becoming one. Drawn into a deadly conspiracy, is he shuffling dangerously close to the end of his mortal coil?

I've had the first book in this series (Johannes Cabal the Necromancer) on my to read pile for a while now but after talking to Jonathan L Howard I really think I need to move it up my list, I think it's a series I'll really enjoy.

A gorgeously romantic, funny and heartbreaking read for anyone who's ever run away from home - and found their way back...

Liza Haven couldn't wait to escape the small village where she grew up with her perfect identical twin sister, Lee. Her life in LA as a stunt woman is reckless, fast and free - and that's just the way she likes it. But when a near-fatal mistake drives her home, she finds Lee gone and everyone in the village mistaking her for her twin sister. Liza has to deal with her ailing mother, the family ice cream business, and Lee's dangerously attractive boyfriend. Liza's always been the bad twin, but as she struggles to keep up the masquerade and puzzle out where her sister has gone, she realises it's not so simple. She's spent her whole life getting away with it - is it finally time to face up to who she really is and where she really belongs?

I really like the sound of this one, the idea of one twin stealing the other's identity is intriguing and I'm curious to see how it plays out.  I read Julie Cohen's book Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom last year (you can read my review here) so I'm sure I'll enjoy Getting Away With It.

The gorgeously indulgent, funny and touching new novel from the bestselling author, which reached No. 2 in the hardback bestseller charts.

When Ellie Kendall tragically loses her husband she feels her life is over. But eventually she's ready for a new start - at work, that is. She doesn't need a new man when she has a certain secret visitor to keep her company...

Moving to North London, Ellie meets neighbour Roo who has a secret of her own. Can the girls sort out their lives? Guilt is a powerful emotion, but a lot can happen in a year in Primrose Hill...

I read a few of Jill Mansell's books back before I started blogging so I'm looking forward to picking up To the Moon and Back.

A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling, read-it-in-one-sitting psychological drama.

Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted - is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again...

Cuckoo is a UK 2011 debut and sounds like a fantastic read, I can't wait to get started!

Cityboy is back! The bestselling author of CITYBOY, which sold over 200,000 copies, returns with an explosive, edge-of-the-seat, no-holds-barred thriller of City corruption, scams and monstrously bad behaviour.

Steve Jones, our Cityboy hero, wants out. He's looking to cash-in before the soul-stripping toil of coining it in London's financial heartland turns into a life sentence. All it will take is a handsome seven figure wedge in the bank and it's the good life for him and goodbye to the horrors of the Square Mile. Like the expert chancer he is, he sees an opportunity. Hacking into his boss's computer, he finds something that chills him to the bone. This is big time; there are bad men involved; there are millions at stake. So no change there then. But when he stumbles upon a murder and becomes the prime suspect, he has to go on the run. Together with his partner Gemma, he improvises ingenious ways of outwitting the authorities, a vicious drug cartel and even M15 in a chase that will send him half way round the world if he's going to stay alive...

Author Geraint Anderson was certainly a colourful character and I can't wait to see if this shows through in his book, I'm sure it will be an interesting read!

Cathy Brett

After getting our books signed quite a few of us headed to a local pub where we had a great time chatting.  It was lovely to see everyone in a more informal and relaxed setting and the evening flew by.  Cathy Brett is such a talented illustrator & she got her trusty pad and pencil out to draw cartoons of a few of us.  It was amazing watching her work, she was drawing so quickly and it was impressive to watch.  I took pictures of the drawings she did so have a look at the slide show below to see them & a few other pics taken in the pub.  I think this is probably the only time I'll be able to say I had my portrait drawn by a published author!  Thanks Cathy :o)

I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone at Headline for organising such a fantastic event and being so generous.  I really had a great time and it was lovely to meet you all!  Thanks to all of the authors too for being so gracious and happily spending time answering our questions.

Who was there:

Sam, Maura, Hannah, Claire, Helena & Naomi - Headline

Cathy Brett - website

Geraint Anderson - website

Jenna Burtenshaw - website

Jill Mansell - website

Jonathan L Howard - website

Julia Crouch - website

Julie Cohen - website

Amanda - One More Page - Event Report

Carolyn & Laura - Book Chick City

Darren - Bart's Bookshelf - Event Report

Darren - The Book Zone (for Boys)

Hadassah - Adventures of a PR Princess

Jackie - Farm Lane Books

Keith - Books & Writers

Liz & Essjay - My Favourite Books

Matt - Teen Librarian

Mel - High Heels and Book Deals

Michelle - Clover Hill Book Reviews

Nick - A Pile of Leaves - Event Report

Rhys - Thirst for Fiction - Event Report

Viv - Serendipity - Event Report

Review: Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom - Julie Cohen

All work and no play makes Nina a dull girl...

But when you're PA to a celebrity chef who's tastier than one of his delicious dishes, you can't help loving your job.  What's wrong with fancying the pants off your boss?  Erm, everything if he's married to someone else.

So when Nina meets sexy Spaniard Juan, she's thrilled to escape to a new life abroad...until he does a runner with her hard-earned cash and she's forced to move to "The Temple of Gloom" - a gothic flat with some unusual inhabitants.  Nina's had enough of bloodsuckers, but is her mysterious neighbour Viktor really a vampire?  Sometimes it's hard to know who to trust...

Visit Julie Cohen's website for more information

Review:
Nina has a slight problem, she has fallen in love with her boss - who just happens to be a very happily married man.  Desperate to move on she jumps into starting a new life with Juan, moving to a country where she doesn't know anyone and can't even speak the language.  When things go horribly wrong she is left homeless and without a penny to her name and takes refuge in the flat of a deceased family member.  It isn't going to be easy to start her life over again but perhaps she'll be able to do it with the help of her new friends.

I really enjoyed Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom and will definitely be on the look out for more by Julie Cohen.  Nina is a very likeable main character and I found it very easy to relate to the position she found herself in.  I think most of us have fallen for the wrong person at least once in our lifetimes & I know I've ended up in a relationship with the wrong person at least once!  So as much as you are mentally screaming at Nina not to jump into things with Juan while you're reading what she does is completely believable and even understandable in the circumstances.

Although I couldn't see what she did in either her boss or Juan I loved Vicktor and could definitely see the attraction there!  I enjoyed watching Nina turn her life around and would definitely recommend this book to romance fans.  If you're looking for a light entertaining read that will have you laugh out loud you should definitely give this a try.

Source: Thanks to Headline for sending me this review copy

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.