Book reviews - the best present you can give any author!

If you have an author in your family or circle of friends and you're wondering what Christmas present to get them, it's simple. There is nothing an author likes better than book reviews. You will certainly have left your glowing 5-star review already, but why not ask your friends to do the same, if they've read the book?

I don't personally celebrate Christmas but do make a humble thing of Yule, with plenty of pagan trappings.

I'm a little unusual, as those who know me will agree, in that I love all reviews, be they 1-star or 5-star. Because whether or not the reader liked your book, they have been moved enough to take the time to leave their comments.

One of my recent favourites was a 1-star with the comment Ehh for Sell the Pig. I had no idea what it meant so I had to look it up in the Urban Dictionary. It seems it's a non-committal sort of word much favoured by Goths. Now I thought Goths were not easily stimulated to do very much, so I was thrilled at the idea that somewhere, in some bedroom, a black-clad teen had gone to all the trouble to log onto Goodreads and leave a comment on my little book.

But of course like any vain author, my favourites are the 5-star reviews and I'm thrilled to say both Sell the Pig and the sequel Is That Billinge Lump have each recently received one from an Amazon Vine reviewer. These people are in the top 1000 reviewers on Amazon. In my case, the lady in question is ranked at 944.

Rhosmynydd Liz had this to say about Sell the Pig: 'By chance, I stumbled upon this incredible book. The title may seem innocuous, but it has a really appropriate meaning to the content. All will be revealed! Not only does "Sell the Pig" by writer, Tottie Limejuice (her inventive pen name), it qualifies the reasons for a removal to France, particularly with an elderly relative and dog in tow (as we are intending to do).It also gives the reader an overview of the planning stages, viewing of properties and various guidelines to dealing with French estate agents, underscoring "buyer beware".

I had previously purchased "retiring to France" and "Living in Rural France" both excellent reference books but no real personality. Tottie Limejuice certainly gives the reader a feel for her own circumstances, many of which we can relate to but also makes a hilarious read out of a serious situation. I even gave the copy to my 91 year old mum-in-law, who will be joining us, and it was great to hear her chuckle and reminisce about her own sister's experiences in a UK residential home - a fate she was terrified of.

No doubts now, as soon as we have sold (when/if) we will be taking a much happier elderly traveller than before. We also picked up on her advice to purchase a RV to travel in comfort for the 1,000 mile trip for not only one mum but two and not one dog, but two!

Even if you are not contemplating crossing the channel, this is a great autobiographical read and please do not forget to buy the sequel of arrival and life in La Belle France. "Is that the Billinge Lump" Is that Billinge Lump?'

And in very short order, the same reviewer read Is That Billinge Lump and had this to say about it: 'Having read Tottie Limejuice's first book about the many reasons why she contemplated and planned a removal to France with brother, elderly mum and elderly dog in tow, I was so anxious to get my hands on the sequel, ordered on the dot of finishing the last page. Thanks to Amazon's Prime delivery system, I did not have long to wait and had my hands on the volume "Is that the Billinge Lump?" the next day and read it that night - I simply could not put it down, it was so good. As we are contemplating a similar venture, complete with mum(s) (yes that is 2!), and dogs (again 2). We are taking Tottie's advice in "Sell the Pig" to purchase an RV to make the 1,000 mile trip in comfort - super advice.

The reasons we are making our move are similar to Tottie's, primarily lack of help with our aging parents and the ensuing medical assistance (or lack of) in the UK. I thought I had done all the preparative reading with the usual culprits advertised in the property mags but found they had missed the real gem. This excellent book not only provides a very personal example of the caring possibilities and medical care in rural France, but also hands on experience and advice. I am now touching base for the necessary medical forms here and know how NOT to behave in confronting the French social services and medical community. These lessons are invaluable. Tottie has her share of problems and I know we will meet some of these so it has put us in good standing to know what to expect. However, the book is so well written, you do not need the excuse of moving to France to read this. It is a stand alone adventure that would make anyone laugh out loud and cry in the chapters recounting her good and bad times. Even if we are lucky enough to sell our smallholding in Wales and make the trip, I will be waiting with baited breath for the next volume.

Both "Sell the Pig" and "Is that the Bllling Lump?" are stand alone novels, while it would be preferable to read both, either novel on its own presents the reader with a completed story. My conscience will not let me reveal the ending but it was so well completed that my hearty congratulations to the author for being able to share with her readers her emotions and the toll they took during her adventures in the UK and France. Sell the Pig (Sell the Pig series) - again, read this and you will weep but laugh and enjoy and like me, seek out the next soon to be published 3rd volume.'

A welcome break in the Cantal after the launch of Sell the Pig sequel

Giving birth to a book is an exhausting process, I can tell you! Once 'Sell the Pig' sequel 'Is That Billinge Lump' was safely published by Ant Press, I was in need of a break, a bit of R&R. So I headed once more to the beautiful and peaceful Lac des Estives at Montgreleix in the Cantal.

I had an old friend staying so took him with me and once again we were lucky enough to have the pretty and funky yellow chalet I stayed in in July, with its peaceful views of cattle grazing on the summer pastures. My friend was really blown away by the fabulous scenery and the abundance of wildlife.

He also quickly became a convert to the fabulous food in the Auvergne, and was delighted with how friendly and welcoming the people are. On our last evening, we ate at table with the hosts and about a dozen French guests, from various parts of France.

We had a lovely time driving round the beautiful area, seeing all the sights, including watching a short toed eagle hunting. Of course, the dogs, Ci and Fleur came too. Fleur was having a blonde moment and kept wriggling out of camera shot, and even Ci would only show his rear view!

On our way back, we visited the national Maquis memorial and museum  at Mont Mouchet. As my friend said, if it hadn't been for the French resistance stopping the Germans in their tracks in the Massif Central and preventing them from getting to Normandy, some of us would not be here today. His father drove a mine-seeking tank on the beaches.

We also visited the splendid Garabit viaduct, another stunning example of Eiffel engineering.

So the sequel is safely launched and it and Sell the Pig are taking it in turns to hold the No 1 and 2 slots in their category on Amazon.

As soon as the winter nights start drawing in so I can't be tempted to play outside, I promise to make a start on Part 3 of the tale of Tottie's adventures in France.

Do you love memoirs? You are not alone!

What do writers do when they are not writing? Mostly hang out together talking about books!

I've recently joined a Facebook group called We Love Memoirs. It was started up by New York Times best-selling author Victoria Twead of Ant Press, publishers of Sell the Pig Sequel 'Is That Billinge Lump'.

If you're interested in memoirs, books, reading, authors, chatting, making new friends or whatever, it's a great group to join. It's very relaxed - it must be, as for some reason they have made me a moderator. I'm sure it's a huge honour - if only I knew what I was supposed to do!

Now that 'Lump' is out, he and 'Pig' are displaying lots of sibling rivalry and taking it in turns to beat each other in the rankings. As I write this, 'Pig' is No 1 in its category on Amazon, with baby brother 'Lump' at No 2.

I shall be doing a book signing for both at my favourite French watering hole, Bar Le St Thomas on September 15th, when there is a lamb roast there.

Meanwhile, to recover from all the hard work of publishing 'Lump', I am off down to the Cantal tomorrow  for a couple of days, with a friend, staying in a little chalet near a lake at Le Lac des Estives, which is up on the high plateau where the cattle graze for the summer.

We're staying in the same funky yellow chalet I had last time I was there in July. 

So don't forget to drop in to the We Love Memoirs group on Facebook. I look forward to seeing you there!

Living The Good Life, France

Lots of people head to France looking for The Good Life. Some even find it. So I was very pleased when The Good Life, France, gave a favourable review to Sell the Pig, and included an interview with me.

It's a very nice and a favourable review, kindly written by someone who has clearly taken the trouble to read the book in question which, sadly, is not always the case in reviews.

It begins: 'It certainly is an attention grabbing title and author name and you will probably be thinking what does it mean?' and goes on to say: 'Endearing, warm, a good dollop of humour and a lot of honesty have gone into the story of her life with family anecdotes skilfully woven through, Lesley doesn’t hold anything back and is unfailingly upbeat about whatever has befallen her in life.'

It comes at a very good time as the sequel, Sell the Pig, is nearing publication, so if you've not yet read 'Pig', now's a good time to do so, before you embark on the sequel, 'Is That Billinge Lump'.

I notice some other authors interviewed on the same site have their serious or arty authory type pictures. Me being me, I just chucked in one of my favourites of me, standing on top of La Banne d'Ordanche, part of the Massif du Sancy, a favourite place of mine to visit and go camping. 

Must go now, am in the middle of what I sincerely hope will be the final final final edit of the sequel!

Can you help with reviews for Sell the Pig please?

I wonder if some of you kind Sell the Pig readers can help me please? On the Amazon UK site, 'Pig' has done very well indeed for reviews, with 60 x 5-star reviews.But the .com and French sites are lagging some way behind.

The sequel is now finished and with the publishers, Ant Press. Leading up to the launch of the sequel (for those who have not yet seen the announcement, it's called 'Is That Billinge Lump?') it would be nice to give 'Pig' a boost, especially in the US market.

I have the chance of some excellent publicity but 'Pig' needs at least 25 x 5-stars on the US site which it has not yet got.

If you have an account with Amazon, you can leave your review of any of the sites. So if you have already left a review on the UK site, would you be very kind and add it also to the US one? There's probably a clever way of doing it automatically but I'm a technophobe so I don't know. If it were me I would simple copy and paste.

It really would be an enormous help and I would be forever grateful.

Thanks so much if you can spare the time.

Sell the Pig sequel - news about 'Lump'

Now here's the delivery news you've all been waiting for - the sequel to Sell the Pig!

Little baby 'Lump' has safely past through the hands of editor Victoria Twead without too much of a mauling and I'm now going through her excellent suggestions to lick it into shape. Victoria is meanwhile designing the cover and it is her publishing company Ant Press which will be publishing. Which means that 'Lump' is already officially an 'awesome book'!

And the very good news is that 'Lump' will be available both for Kindle and Paperback more or less at the same time. So there'll be no excuse not to buy it!

Keep your eye on the Sell the Pig - Tottie Limejuice page on Facebook for full details of publication dates.

Meanwhile here's a picture connected to the sequel, to tempt and intrigue you ;)

Peace, perfect peace - Lac des Estives

So where does the bestselling author of Sell the Pig choose to go on holiday? Clearly it needs to be in my beloved Auvergne, from which I have not ventured since I arrived in March 2007.

My best friend Jill, whom you may remember from Sell the Pig, came to visit, so together we ventured south to the Cantal, up to the Cézallier plateau. We stayed in a funky yellow chalet at the Lac des Estives, at Mongreleix, the highest village in the Cantal.

The estives are the summer pastures where the cattle, mostly Salers and Aubrac, go for the summer to graze on the abundant wild herbs and flowers. The view from our chalet was of the pastures and hills, and we could watch the cattle marching purposefully up and down in the evening, probably going for a drink as they aren't being milked.

Lac des Estives has a good sized lake for fly fishing, well stocked with some large fish, and with the largest collection of different dragonflies I have ever seen in one place.  I also saw a big crayfish. 

It was blissfully quiet and, in between exploring some of the local sites, like the beautiful Brion, famous for its cattle marts, Jill and I spent most of our time just reading and chilling.

We had a wonderfully relaxing time. Our evening meal the first night was taken with hosts Alain and Ghislaine, a lovely couple, very friendly and welcoming. They went to a lot of trouble to produce a meal which I could eat, with my dietary constraints.

Our chalet could sleep six, so at only €300 the week in high season, it's a very reasonable place to stay for a group of friends or a larger family.

Highly recommended, if you like peace and quiet.

So now it's back to work on the sequel.  Just going through editor Victoria Twead's very useful comments and amendments. Then Ant Press will be publishing "Lump" very soon.