The Best Bloomerville
Hotel
Today on my blog I have an extract of The Best
Bloomerville Hotel by Caroline James. I was lucky enough to be able to reveal the
cover for this book back in January 2018.
About the
Book
Let the shenanigans begin at
the Boomerville hotel …
Jo Docherty and Hattie Contaldo have a vision – a
holiday retreat in the heart of the Lake District exclusively for guests of ‘a
certain age’ wishing to stimulate both mind and body with new creative
experiences. One hotel refurbishment later and the Best Boomerville Hotel is
open for business!
Perhaps not surprisingly Boomerville attracts more
than it’s fair share of eccentric clientele: there’s fun loving Sir Henry
Mulberry and his brother Hugo; Lucinda Brown, an impoverished artist with more
ego than talent; Andy Mack, a charming Porsche-driving James Bond lookalike, as
well as Kate Simmons, a woman who made her fortune from an internet dating
agency but still hasn’t found ‘the One’ herself.
With such an array of colourful individuals there’s
bound to be laughs aplenty, but could there be tears and heartbreak too and
will the residents get more than they bargained for at Boomerville?
‘Britain’s
answer to the Best Marigold Hotel! Book me in for Sharing with the Shaman and
Clairvoyance in mid-life – this book is fabulous!’
Nikki
Ashton, Amazon best-selling author
Now before I go on to provide a sneaky look at the
inside of this book with my excerpt, let me tell you a little bit more about
the author.
Caroline James has owned and run businesses encompassing all aspects of
the hospitality industry, a subject that features in her novels. She is based
in the UK but has a great fondness for travel and escapes whenever she can. A
public speaker, consultant and food writer, Caroline is a member of the
Romantic Novelist’s Association and writes articles and short stories and
contributes to many publications.
Her debut novel,
Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy & Me is set in
North West England, at the time of a famous gypsy horse fair. The book
went straight to number three on Amazon and was E-book of the Week in The Sun.
So, You Think You're ACelebrity...Chef? was runner up the Winchester
Writers festival for best TV Drama and takes a light-hearted look at the world of celebrity
chefs as they battle it out for fame and fortune. Coffee,Tea, The Caribbean & Me was runner up at The Write Stuff, LBF, 2015 and is
an Amazon best-seller and top recommended read by Thomson
Holidays. Jungle Rock, a romcom
novella set in Australia, revolves around a TV game show.
In her spare time, Caroline can be found trekking up a
mountain or relaxing with her head in a book and hand in a box of chocolates.
To connect with the author and
find out more, links to Caroline James are below.
So without putting this off anymore, as I know some
of you will be looking forward to this excerpt ……….
Hattie raced down the path and as she turned the handle
on the wrought iron gates that led to the meadow, she saw that the canvas flap
on the tepee had been flung to one side.
Bob skipped out.
He glanced around
then leant down to grab a handful of wild flowers, which he began to toss, one
by one, into the air.
Grinning
foolishly, he started to dance.
‘Bleedin’ hell,’
Hattie muttered. ‘He’s smacked off his face.’
She watched Bob
prance up the steps of the gypsy caravan before pausing at the top. Placing the
last of his flowers between his teeth, he pirouetted on one foot then flung out
his arms and started to tap dance down the steps.
Curtains parted
on the windows of the caravan and several faces peered out. A woman wearing a
headscarf and hoops of gold in her ears, smiled and waved at Hattie. Her skin
was bright orange and as Hattie stared at the apparition she wondered if Hair
and Beauty had a spray-tan offer that week. ‘Nothing to worry about, Queenie,’
Hattie called out. ‘Carry on with your session.’
Hattie found Bob
dancing around the meadow. Jo was
going to have a fit and Hattie couldn’t let Bob go back to the hotel in this
condition. Damn the Shaman and his herbs. She must do something.
‘Oi!’ Hattie
called out. ‘Fred Astaire! Get your dancing feet over here.’
‘I’m singing in
the rain.’ Bob sang as he twirled over to Hattie.
‘And I’ll be
singing in the sin bin if you don’t get your act together.’ Hattie shoved one
arm under Bob’s shoulder and tried to head him off and away from the caravan.
But Bob was not to be stopped and, pushing Hattie to one side, broke into a
repertoire of song and dance from all his favourite shows. Kicking his legs in
the air and striding across the meadow, he belted out a medley.
‘And all that
jazz!’ Bob sang.
‘You’re in
bleedin’ Marland not Chicago.’ Hattie tried to grab Bob but he twirled away.
‘Raindrops on
roses and whiskers on kittens.’ Bob held up a finger and Hattie looked around.
He clearly thought that he had an audience. ‘Bright copper kettles and warm
coloured mittens …’
‘Look, Bob.’
Hattie grabbed his arms. ‘There are no brown paper packages tied up with string
and these may all be a collection of your favourite things,’ she waved her arms
vaguely, ‘but it’s time to get you safely back to your room.’
Bob shrugged
Hattie away and ran to the gate.
Bursting through,
he hooked his thumbs around a pair of imaginary braces and line-danced down the
garden. ‘Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.’ Bob arrived at
the top of the steps and his chorus reached a climax. ‘I gotta beautiful
feelin’ …’
A group of guests
enjoying a game of croquet on the lawn, looked up as Bob achieved full
throttle. They held mallets and one struck a ball in the direction of the hoop
nearest the pond. But the player, distracted by Bob, miss-hit and sent the
heavy ball speeding across the path where it hit a stone and bounced up. Hattie
heard a whoosh as it sped in Bob’s direction.
In a split
second, she pushed Bob out of the way.
Bob heard the
players call out and as Hattie lunged, he turned and missed his footing and
fell headlong into the pond. Hattie skidded to a halt and gravel flew in all
directions, pebble-dashing the guests.
Time seemed to
stand still as Bob started to sink into the water.
Well, what do
you all reckon to that, sounds like a great book and one that would be perfect
to curl up with on a spring evening (if we ever get a spring) or even a nice
beach holiday. If this is the book for
you then the links below will help you purchase the same.
The
Best Boomerville Hotel Links:
Publication date for this
book was 13 March 2018 so you can buy and read now.
Check out some
of the advance praise for this book below.
The Best Boomerville Hotel – Comments from advance
readers
‘A
lovely addictive read and one that I would recommend.’ Stephanie O’Neill, Ireland
‘Caroline’s
characters shone their magic brightly and kept me hooked, evoking strong
emotions. A triumph, I absolutely loved this book.’
Nicky Clifford, Author.
‘I
really wish I could check into Boomerville and participate in the courses. I
loved this book, it is a great read. Thanks to the author for bringing the
crazy characters to life - I can’t wait for the next book.’ Ronnie Montgomory, London.
‘I
thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good to read about middle-aged people falling in
love and reinventing themselves. Highly recommended.’ Tracey Owen, Cumbria.
‘Boomerville
gripped me from the start with twists and laugh out loud moments. I loved it
and hope we see more adventures in the future.’ Lisa Stewart, Southampton.
‘Caroline’s
best book yet. I loved the characters and the Lake District setting was
gorgeous. Boomerville is a wonderful journey.’ Amanda
Williams, Wales.
Check out the rest of the blog tour with these
fabulous blogs:
