Heidi Swain : Welcoming Cathy Lake to the blog!

Today I'm delighted to welcome a new guest to the blog! Cathy Lake and I have known each other online for years now and we also share the same agent, but we're still to meet in real life. Something I'm very much hoping to rectify in 2022.

Welcome Cathy!

Hello everyone and huge thanks to Heidi for inviting me to visit her wonderful blog!

I’m an author of women’s fiction and romantic comedies and I write under three names – Cathy Lake, Darcie Boleyn and Rachel Griffiths. Readers often ask why I use pseudonyms and it’s because I currently work with two publishers as well as self-publishing.

Today I’d like to tell you a bit more about The Country Village series written as Cathy Lake. The first book in the series, The Country Village Christmas Show, was published in 2020, and introduced readers to the warm and friendly community of Little Bramble, a quintessential English village. In 2021, The Country Village Summer Fête was published in June and The Country Village Winter Wedding came out in the autumn. While each book can be read as a standalone, the series can also be enjoyed in order, allowing readers to encounter familiar characters and locations.

In The Country Village Winter Wedding, Hazel Campbell comes to Little Bramble after leaving her life – and successful wedding planning business – behind in Scotland. She’s been through a difficult time but is determined to try to piece her life back together again. She sets up as a wedding planner in Little Bramble and this is perfect timing for two of the characters who have left planning their winter wedding to the last minute. Readers will also meet Jack Hurst who has been through his own heartbreak and has come to the village to spend Christmas with his sister, Bella, and her family. Hazel and Jack meet, winter comes to Little Bramble and there’s a gorgeous wedding where you can meet characters old and new.

I really enjoyed writing this story. I like bringing two broken hearts together and surrounding them with other characters who can help them in their healing journey. In this case, Hazel and Jack need to come to terms with their own conflicts in order to be able to trust again. Some people say that romance novels are predictable, but while readers expect the outcome to be happy, it’s the journey to reach a happy ever after that matters. As a reader of romance novels, I find that certainty comforting because there are times when we need to escape reality and to embrace the happiness that can be found between the covers of a book.

My stories usually feature dogs, especially rescue dogs, because I have three dogs of my own and they’re important members of my family. I believe that we can learn a lot from our canine companions about living in the moment and making the most of every single day.