It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the publication day push for A Train from Penzance to Paris by Laura Briggs, available for kindle via Amazon, the fourth part of her lovely series A Little Hotel in Cornwall. My thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support.
I very much enjoyed the first book in this series, also called A Little Hotel in Cornwall – you’ll find my review here. I sadly couldn’t manage to fit in the next two parts – A Spirited Girl on Cornish Shores and Sea Holly and Mistletoe Kisses – but was really delighted to revisit the series with The Cornish Secret of Summer’s Promise (you’ll find my review here). Let’s take a look at what’s been happening with Maisie…
When Maisie accepts a celebrated author’s invitation to mentor her, she finds herself leaving Cornwall behind on train tracks bound for the glitter city of Paris. Instead of making beds and serving coffee at the Penmarrow hotel in Cornwall, she’s making notes on her manuscript while sitting in a French cafe, meeting famous writers at private dinner parties, and trying to ferret the secrets behind the author’s unfinished future novel. It’s glamorous, it’s breathtaking … but it’s also an ocean channel away from the place that she loves, and, more importantly, the person to whom she just recently confessed her deepest feelings. Separated from Sidney by distance and circumstances, Maisie fears that their connection will be lost despite her words to him – and maybe because of those words, and the ones she didn’t allow him to say in return.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of things in her new life trying to distract her – the professional editor hired to critique her novel, the eager young literary agent who sees pie-in-the-sky potential for Maisie’s talent, but Maisie finds solace in the eclectic group of amateur writers into whose midst she finds herself by accident. Their critique and advice is fast becoming as important as the editors – maybe even more important than the published author Maisie believed held the keys to refining her skill.
But it’s missing Sidney that fills Maisie’s thoughts the most, along with her life back in Port Hewer, and she can’t stop wondering whether his feelings are the same as her own. His unspoken answer has become one of the most important pieces of her life, even as she struggles to match the pace of her new life and keep her dreams in sight. And when she unwittingly becomes privy to a seeming literary conspiracy, she must decide what to do in light of its truth – and decide what’s most important in her quest to become a professional writer.
Join Maisie in a whirlwind tour across two of the world’s greatest cities, filled with questions, dreams, and a chance for fame that she believed far beyond her grasp, as she discovers herself as a writer, and how to embrace an unexpected future on her own terms.
I’m so sorry I couldn’t fit in the reading this time – I’ll just have to catch up later – but I’m delighted to welcome Laura as my guest with some fun facts about her new novella…
A huge thank you to Anne for letting me tell her readers about the newest release in my Cornish romance series. The fifth installment featuring the adventures of aspiring author Maisie Clark is titled A Train from Penzance to Paris and follows Maisie on a whirlwind journey from Cornwall to Paris and on to London, all in pursuit of her dream to become a brilliant novelist. For this stop on the book blog tour, I thought it might be fun to share a bit of the trivia behind the latest read in the series and hope you will all enjoy it!
1) The amateur writer’s circle that Maisie joins during her stay in London was inspired by some of the more common fictional tropes about creative writing groups, night classes, and literary enthusiasts. But chiefly, it was the memory of reading the Leonard Q. Ross short story Mr. K*a*p*l*a*n Cuts a Gordian Knot that brought to mind the familiar scenario of a motley crew who somehow bands together, becoming unlikely allies in their attempts to survive a challenging experience. They’re definitely more pleasant than the quirky writer’s class in Throw Mama From the Train!
2) Maisie’s would-be literary agent, the young and earnest Arnold Spofford, was inspired by a young attorney with similar characteristics in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas film A Season for Miracles.
3) The birthday party that Megs and her friends throw for Maisie in Paris—complete with 1920’s style dress and a phonograph playing jazz records—is a nod to the recent trend of Gatsby-inspired events in various parts of the globe. It’s also a bit of a throwback to the glitzy Randhouser Ball that Maisie attended in book one of the series—the same night she shared her almost-first-kiss with Sidney Daniels on the beach.
4) The secret literary society where Maisie is a dinner party guest during her trip to Paris is meant as a reference to several legendary real-life literary groups, such as the Inklings and the Algonquin Round Table.
I hope these fun facts will intrigue you enough to check out the books in my series A Little Hotel in Cornwall. There are five installments currently available, with book six already on pre-order at Amazon!
Thank you Laura – I do hope I’ll have room on my reading list to fit in book six!
About the author
Laura Briggs is the author of several feel-good romance reads, including the Top 100 Amazon UK seller A Wedding in Cornwall. She has a fondness for vintage style dresses (especially ones with polka dots), and reads everything from Jane Austen to modern day mysteries. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, caring for her pets, gardening, and seeing the occasional movie or play.