Oooh – again there are few here. Wham’s “Last Christmas” is fabulous, as is Band Aid “Do they Know it’s Christmas”. And for swoon value, David Essex “Winter’s Tale”. I will, basically, sing along loudly to whatever is playing wherever I am though!
Christmas of New Beginnings is actually a line from the story – Cerys christens her first Christmas in Padcock her “Christmas of New Beginnings” as she has left her boyfriend and moved away from Wales, and followed her dream by opening up a craft shop and tea room.
Folk singer Cerys Davies left Wales for the South Downs village of Padcock at Christmas, desperate for a new beginning. And she ends up having plenty of those: opening a new craft shop-tea room, helping set up the village’s first festive craft fair, and, of course, falling desperately in love with Lovely Sam, the owner of the local pub. It’s just too bad he’s firmly in the clutches of Awful Belinda …
About the book
I’m Kirsty and I live in the north east of England. I’m married with one son, and I also have a day job at a local University. I write for Choc Lit, and now, I also write for Ruby Fiction!
Do you have a favourite Christmas book?
I have a Facebook page called “Kirsty Ferry Author”, and my twitter handle is @kirsty_ferry. I also have a blog I too often neglect called Rosethorn Ramblings, and my website is www.rosethornpress.co.uk. I’m not great at keeping it updated, but have just recently added a few more books to it so that’s good!
It’s the first book in a new series for Ruby Fiction, and is based in a village called Padcock in the South Downs. My heroine, Cerys, relocates from Wales and, over five Christmases, she tells us about her growing relationship with Lovely Sam, who owns the local pub. When Cerys first moves there, Sam is in a relationship with Awful Belinda, and we find out what happens to them all and whether Cerys eventually gets her Christmas wish! It’s a romantic comedy, and I really enjoyed writing it and creating another set of bonkers characters, some of whom will get their own books…
What Christmas book are you looking forward to reading this year? How did you come up with the title for your book?
Carole Matthews “Christmas for Beginners”. I’ve ordered a signed copy incorporated into a hamper for my mum, but I’ll have to wait until she’s finished it before I can read it – that’s only fair, I guess!
This is a tough one. Over the years I have had many, many lovely gifts. I think though, I’d have to say my lilac Raleigh Caprice bicycle is the one that stands out the most. I got it when I was fifteen – I asked for “a bike and a beanbag” and got them both. My bike is still going strong, and over the summer I often cycled to a local coffee shop along a country walk which practically starts at the end of my street. The bike has a white wire basket on the front, and tartan basket with a fastening lid on the back, and the same bell I’ve had on all my bikes since being tiny – with a picture of a squirrel on it. My Dad flipped it upside down a couple of weeks ago to check my tyres as the front one was out of alignment (I am rubbish at bike maintenance) and the bell scraped along my laminate floor. I had to stop him so I could unscrew the squirrel and try to protect it!
Do you still keep any Christmas traditions from your childhood?
Hopefully better than we did last year! I’m hoping that we can get to the Church carol service on Christmas Eve with our friends and sing carols. We have photos of all the kids throughout the years outside the church, and obviously didn’t get to church last year or get a photo. We did a photo on my staircase in August this year after a garden party instead! Then it’ll be home for “Muppet’s Christmas Carol” and a Chinese takeaway in front of the TV. Then on Christmas day we’ll hopefully see my parents in the morning, come home for lunch just the three of us, and have my parents over in the afternoon. Then it’ll be PJs and prosecco all the way until bedtime!
Welcome Kirsty. First of all, would you tell my blog readers a little about yourself?
Not really. I have read a lot of Christmas novels over the last few years, lots of contemporary womens’ fiction and romcom books. I enjoy them all, but I couldn’t choose a favourite.
I have two. “Elf” is the one I wrap presents to, and “Muppets Christmas Carol” is the Christmas Eve treat.
Perhaps Cerys has to learn that some new beginnings take a while to … well, begin! But with a bit of patience, some mild espionage, a generous sprinkling of festive magic and a flock of pub-crashing sheep, could her fifth Christmas in Padcock lead to her best new beginning yet?
And a favourite Christmas song?
Another of my favourite romance authors is with me today and I think she’s probably the most reviewed author on this blog! Kirsty Ferry’s latest Christmas book is Christmas of New Beginnings and it’s the first to be published by Ruby Fiction. Let’s see what she has to tell us about the book and her own Christmas favourites.
How can people follow you or connect with you on social media?
We still put a mince pie out for Santa, a carrot for Rudolph and a glass of something nice for Santa – my son only does it now to humour me, but I would be grumpy if we didn’t do it. We also still have stockings, and in the morning one of us (usually me) creeps downstairs to switch the Christmas tree lights on before everyone gets up. When we go downstairs and see the lights on, that signifies, of course, that Santa has been! I remember creeping down the stairs when I was little with my Grandma, before my parents were up, whispering eagerly to one another whether we thought Santa had been, and whether the lights would be on. And of course, they always were!
And finally, what’s the best Christmas present you ever received?
Christmas of New Beginnings is available now as an ebook
You can order a copy on the Ruby Fiction website here: Christmas of New Beginnings
How do you plan to celebrate Christmas this year?
Not all festive wishes come true right away – sometimes it takes five Christmases …
What’s your favourite Christmas film?
In a nutshell, what is your Christmas book about?
