One Vintage Heart Welcomes Special Guest Lisa J Hobman, Author of “Bridge Over the Atlantic”

A Clue for Adrianna (Captain’s Point Stories) a romantic women’s fiction novel written by Annie Acorn and Juliette Hill writing as Charlotte Kent

Also available in the UK and on NOOK!

Flying Pigs and Day Dreams

First of all I would like to thank Juliette for inviting me to be a guest on her blog.  It means such a lot to get support from other wonderful authors.  It’s been very overwhelming and I am so grateful.

Saturday saw my very first official book signing.  I can’t express how wonderful it was to be given such an amazing opportunity and I am very grateful to the people at the lovely bookshop that hosted me.  Seeing a window display made up of my work and seeing Viola Estrella’s stunning cover design so prominently displayed was an amazing experience.

My journey into writing started when I was pretty young.  I used to be a singer and was always trying my hand at song lyrics.  My dad writes beautiful poetry and is quite artistic and so I think I must get my creative side from him.  I used to love writing stories at school and when I was a teenager there was a vague attempt at writing a book but goodness knows what happened to that!  It was in the days before laptops so it was all done in lined notebooks!  Gosh I have just made myself sound ancient!

At my recent book celebration party when I was surrounded by my wonderful family and friends, a dear friend reminded me of my early writing attempts.  She handed me a little wrapped gift and took me back to when we were younger and I would scribble ideas in notepads as they came to me.

I would never allow her (Or anyone for that matter) to read my notes and she once asked me “When will I get to read them?”

I replied “Maybe someday when they’re published.

She smiled and continued “Oh yes?  And when will that be?”

Lacking in self-confidence at the time my simple reply was “Oh you never know…pigs might fly.”

I opened the little gift eagerly and was overwhelmed by the thoughtful gift.  A little flying pig brooch.  With a warm smile she simply stated “Well, now you’re published it seems appropriate.”  I wore this little brooch with pride at my first book signing and think he will accompany everywhere from now on.

This past year has been such a rollercoaster.  We relocated to Scotland in May 2012 to pursue a more relaxed lifestyle.  When I tell people that now I have to snigger at myself.  It’s been far from relaxed.  The word I think fits most is exhilarating.  Aside from enjoying the wonderful scenery that surrounds us and the fresh, crisp, Scottish air I have been far too busy to relax!

An idea for s story had been bubbling around in my head for a long while but fearing I lacked the skills and time to put things down in black and white it wasn’t until we relocated that I decided to take the bull by its proverbial horns and give writing a real go.  With the encouragement of family and friends I got out my laptop and began to type.

Scotland was, for me, the inspiration I needed to open up the gates of my mind and allow the words to flow.  The places we had spent holidays came back into my mind and it seemed the natural thing to locate my debut novel in the area we love the most.  The Scottish Highlands.

I wrote for around six months solid, turning writing into my full time job!  Once the story was finished and my husband and I had made a final research trip to make sure all the descriptions of places and scenery really held up, it was time to bite the bullet and try to get it published!  This was the scariest part.  It was all new to me and I had no clue what to expect.  Receiving rejections through for something I had put my heart and soul into was a bitter pill to swallow.  But it’s all par for the course.  And as a writer you have to hang on to the fact that rejections are going to happen.  Like it or not!  You have to keep in mind that it’s not personal.

In November I had news that knocked me off my feet!  A company in the USA called 5 Prince Publishing offered me a contract after requesting my full manuscript!  I was totally bowled over.  It was the most exciting feeling ever.  My hard work had paid off and here was a company that wanted to give me a chance.  I have learned so much through working with my wonderful editor, Bernadette.  I am still learning and will continue to do so in order to make my books the best that they can be.  It’s been an amazing process.

Bridge Over the Atlantic is a passion-filled, contemporary romance that tells the story of Mallory, a twenty something, curvy, voluptuous girl with self-esteem issues.  These issues have stopped her from meeting Mr Right and she has just about given up.  That is until one day she take a coffee break out in the bustling streets of Leeds city.  Stiletto’s and pavement cracks do not go well together and Mallory soon discovers this when she lurches right into the arms of a passing stranger…but not just any passing stranger…a gorgeous, masculine passing stranger!

I’m often asked if the characters in the book are based on real people.  The answer is no.  I can honestly say that Mallory has elements of me in her.  But to be totally honest, she has elements of almost every woman out there.  I hope this makes her endearing and realistic.

My second novel has been contracted and I am due to begin edits with my wonderful editor at 5 Prince Publishing very soon!

Bridge Over the Atlantic is available at:

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/ZGJDGb

You can contact Lisa J Hobman at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LisaJHobmanAuthor

Twitter: @LivingScottishD

My Website: http://bit.ly/15p3fq9

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