Friday 18 October 2013

BOOK TOUR -- So, You Think You're A Celebrity .... Chef? by Caroline James

SO, YOU THINK YOU'RE A CELEBRITY .... CHEF?
By
Caroline James



Publishing 4th October 2013

These quotes just in!
"A fabulous story, it made me shriek with laughter and I loved every twist and turn! And so much of it could be only too true! One of my favourite current reads."  Valentina Harris, Author, Chef & International Cookery School Host.

"You'll go NUTS! about this book! A Great read!" Andrew Nutter, Celebrity Chef


So You Think You're A Celebrity... Chef?
by
Caroline James


Mix together…

A tough-cookie media agent who's clawed her way to the top, and a con-man who wants to open a cookery school.
Add in a washed-up celebrity chef whose career needs re-building…

Flavour with…

An aging rock star fresh from rehab, and a Sloane Ranger food writer who gets her own TV show…

Bring to the boil:

At a Gourmet Food Festival, in Ireland, where anything goes!

When media agent Hilary Hargreaves travels to Ireland to look at a campaign for a new cookery school, she meets a blast from her past - the romantic but feckless chef Mickey Lloyd, who is hell-bent on resurrecting his flagging career. Her tough demeanour is rocked as it becomes apparent Mickey's intentions involve more than a stint behind a stove in his quest to pursue her. But as plans for the school gain momentum, she realises that she's developing more than a passing interest in reformed alcoholic Long Tom Hendry, who owns the crumbling old mansion where the school will be homed. Hilary has many ingredients to juggle with her demanding client list - which looks set to boil over if she doesn't keep control. From London's bustling Soho, to Southern Ireland and the sunny shores of the Caribbean, has Hilary got too much on her plate and is she really prepared to risk it all for love?

Caroline James Guest Post for Bookalicious Travel Addict

My new book So, You Think You're A Celebrity…Chef is set in London, southern Ireland and Barbados, three very different destinations! I'll briefly explain how some of the characters in the book evolved as I visited these places during my own research.
London
Media agent Hilary Hargreaves represents many celebrity chefs. She is the main character in the book and has an office in Wardour Street in the heart of Soho. This bustling and vibrant area provided a perfect backdrop to the busy lives of Hilary, her colleagues and clients as they hurry about their day-to-day business. I love London and the minute I get off the train at Euston and pace down the platform my step quickens in anticipation of the day ahead. London is a cosmopolitan place and during the research for the book I found myself dining in chic west end restaurants, imagining who Hilary would be meeting then wandering around bustling markets and 'villages' (where she loved to shop for vintage clothes), Brixton being one on my favourites - the eclectic mix of food, music and shopping comes alive in Brixton Village as day darkens into night.

Southern Ireland
There is an annual food festival near Cork in a town called Kinsale, a picturesque and historic town that lies on the south west coast and is tourist attraction with lovely arty shops and galleries. It was a perfect place to send Hilary and her assistant Bob, as guests of Chef Lenny Crispin who plans to open a cookery school there. One of the biggest surprises is the astounding number of restaurants - 58 in total to serve a population of 3,000 - whose numbers swell in the summer months. A dozen of so of these eating establishments serve gourmet food to the highest standard. Keith Floyd, a celebrity chef whom many may remember for his ritual 'slurp' whilst cooking, visited the festival and fell in love with the area, so much so that he bought a cottage and lived there for several years. I wanted to know what drew him and as soon as I arrived I understood why. The Gourmet Food Festival in Kinsale is Irish hospitality at its best and the weekend event left such an impression that I simply had to write about it in a book. From chefs cooking outside in the town, to a gala ball and a mad-cap food trail with Kinsale's very own Alice and the Mad Hatter, topped off with a seafood extravaganza - there is something for all providing you have the stamina to get through the weekend!

Barbados

A beautiful island steeped in history but with a precarious past. The first English ship touched the island on May 14th 1625 under the command of Captain John Powell and island was claimed on behalf of King James I. Land was allocated to people with good financial backgrounds and social connections with England and the production of sugar, tobacco and cotton was heavily reliant on the importation of slaves - forced labour from West Africa who survived despicable conditions to reach their destination and thereafter, until abolition in 1834. I've been to Barbados many times and visited plantations to try and imagine life in those days - for the plantation owners who wielded so much power and the slaves (including indentured whites who wanted to emigrate overseas), who had no choice. Barbados today is very different and goes along at it's own pace, the Bajans are happy people pleased to pass a pleasantry and while away some time chatting in the sunshine. There is a tranquility and calm that permeates deep into your bones and it was a perfect setting for my character -ageing rock singer Long Tom Hendry to begin a 'come-back' tour when his recording company bought out a reggae version of his best selling album.

I hope you may also enjoy the journey to these special places, with the characters in the book.

Happy traveling!


Caroline x


Excerpt
Hilary pressed a security code onto a keypad. It buzzed and she pushed the front door to her office open and entered, then flicked it closed with her kitten heel pump and climbed the stairs. Her footing was cushioned by the soft red pile of an expensive carpet. Bob had assured her that red was a good feng shui colour – associated with romance, wealth and happiness. Hilary sighed and wondered why she put up with his nonsense.
  The foyer of Hargreaves Promotions was deserted and Hilary cursed as she swept past Lottie’s cluttered desk. The girl was nowhere to be seen and the switchboard lights flickered like traffic lights as they remained unanswered. A curious sound emanated from Bob’s office, the drone was low-pitched and sounded painful. Hilary peered through the frosted glass on the panel door then thrust the door open.
  “Good grief, Bob, have you been tangoed?” Hilary planted herself in the doorway and stared at her assistant in his vivid outfit. He was all beads, bangles and Buddha since he’d come back from Tibet and Hilary’s patience was wearing thin. “Where in God’s name did you get that suit?” she asked. “You look like a space hopper!”
  Bob ignored his boss. He kept his eyes closed and fondled the prayer beads. “Go away, Hilary,” he said quietly. “It’s my lunch break.”
  “No, it isn’t,” Hilary said. “It’s three o’clock in the afternoon and this place is like the Marie Celeste. Where’s Lottie?”
  Bob tucked himself under the worn leather top of his mahogany desk and folded his arms. “She’s gone to get a panini,” he replied. “We’ve never stopped all day and I shall faint if I don’t get some carbs.”
  Hilary stared at a book on Bob’s desk – My Spiritual Journey, Dalai Lama. Bob leaned forward and stroked the cover protectively.
  “Goolanga,” Hilary muttered. “Aren’t you a little old for all this Hari Krishna nonsense?”
  “Don’t knock something you know nothing about,” Bob said and gazed fondly at his hero’s image.
  “I know that my office has ground to a complete standstill the moment I step out for a quick meeting.” Hilary tapped her elegant 1950s suede shoe’d foot. “Go and answer the phones please, then make us both an espresso. I want to hear all about the literary festival in the Cotswolds.” She turned to leave but called over her shoulder, “When you’re quite sure that that your chakras are where they should be and you’re ready to do some work…”
  Bob screwed his eyes up and let out a hiss between clenched teeth as he watched Hilary retreat. He glanced at the clock on the wall – Hilary’s “quick meeting” had been the best part of four hours. He stroked his beads and breathed through his nose and filled his lungs with air, then exhaled slowly. He’d give Hilary five minutes then brace himself for her interrogation.
  Bob closed his eyes again and thought about the weekend. It had been awash with literary luvvies who’d flocked to the annual festival. Hilary had insisted that Bob chaperone one of their clients, Prunella Gray, who was appearing at the festival to talk about her recently published autobiography. The festival was set in Chipping Hodbury, a quintessential English town in the heart of affluent middle England. Pretty limestone buildings, adorned with flowering window boxes, lined the high street which led to a double-arched bridge where the River Hod meandered beneath. Chipping Hodbury Theatre was surrounded by tall weeping willows and gracious lawns which swept down to the banks of the river where ducks and geese waddled about, searching for scraps of discarded sandwiches whilst the literary crowd sipped chilled white wine and picnicked in the glorious sunshine.
  Bob thought about the dashing compere, Anthony Merryweather, who’d watched their arrival and rushed down the theatre steps to open the door of their courtesy car and greet them. He welcomed them to the festival then swept Prunella away to prepare for her audience. After several drinks backstage, Anthony and Bob exchanged numbers and the weekend suddenly brightened for Bob. Prunella had given a riveting talk and left the stage to a standing ovation. Enthralled fans hung onto her every word as she embroiled her life story and described the many perils she’d encountered in the kitchens of well-known establishments during her career progression. Prunella was an established household name in the world of food and drink and her warts-and-all autobiography looked set to be a best seller. She had Hilary to thank for her success but “thanks” was a swear word to Prunella Gray and she’d been ruthless in her climb to the top. Bob had strict instructions to stay with Prunella all weekend and Hilary’s warnings rung in his ears – Prunella was not to be left alone, especially with journalists!
  It had been exhausting as Prunella had a rampant appetite for vodka. She was known as the Poison Dwarf in culinary circles and, in Bob’s opinion, was an absolute bitch. He’d seen chefs freeze like snared prey and jack-knife away to avoid her at restaurant openings and media events, where Prunella tracked her victims. Her sweet little face peered out from a heavy dark fringe and reminded Bob of the Bette Davis film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. Baby Jane was most definitely alive and well and lived in a town house in Queen’s Park, where he’d deposited a drunken Prunella in a heap on Sunday evening.
  Bob smiled as he remembered that he was meeting Anthony the following evening at a restaurant called Dabbous. He couldn’t wait to drop this in to Hilary – there was a long waiting list for a table but Anthony knew the manager and had procured a table for eight o’clock.
  A tapping sound startled Bob.
  Lottie, the company receptionist, pushed open the door with her pert bottom. Her size three feet, daintily encased in pink pumps, danced into the room. She balanced a plate of prawn filled panini in one hand and a mug of peppermint tea in the other and teetered over to Bob’s desk.
  “You’ve got two minutes to eat this. Hilary is on the war-path and wants you in her office pronto.” Lottie shook her tousled hair and adjusted a polka-dot bandana. “Prunella’s been on the phone,” Lottie continued. “She says you abandoned her all weekend and copped off with a compere as camp as Christmas, then left her to her own devices.”
  Bob spat out several prawns. He gazed at Lottie with saucer-like eyes. “Shite!” he mumbled.
  “That’s not very Dalai Lama – you’d better say a few chants before you go in.” Lottie wandered away to her desk in reception. She slipped a head-set on and began to take calls on the pulsating switchboard.
  “Hargreaves Promotions. How may I help you today?”


About the Author



Caroline James was born in Cheshire and wanted to be a writer from an early age. She
trained, however, in the catering trade and worked and travelled both at home and abroad.  Caroline has owned and run many related businesses and cookery is a passion alongside her writing, combining the two with her love of the hospitality industry and romantic fiction.
Caroline can generally be found with her nose in a book and her hand in a box of chocolates and when not doing either, she likes to write, climb mountains and contemplate life.
She writes fun, romantic fiction and is a member of the RNA and The Society of Authors. She has had numerous short stories published and writes a regular column for a lifestyle magazine.

Caroline's debut novel, Coffee, Tea, The Gypsy & Me went straight to #3 on Amazon and was E-book of the Week in The Sun newspaper. Her next book, So You Think You're A Celebrity… Chef? Will be published on October 4th 2013 by Thornberry Publishing.

Web:               www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk
Twitter:           @CarolineJames12
Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/carolinejamesauthor
Blog:                www.carolinejamesauthor.blogspot.co.uk

Goodreads:     http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/550084.Caroline_James

Great Giveaway! 

5 x Chocolate Brownies (UK only)

In the book, gorgeous Gary from Bon Appetite! makes sublime melt-in-your-mouth brownies. We’ve commisioned award winning Brownie Queen, Justine Forrest to supply her amazing brownies, individually boxed as a giveaway treat!

5 x Bespoke Book Bags (UK and International)

The perfect little bag to pop your book or kindle in – don’t forget your glasses and a bar of chocolate! Individually designed for this tour by Leanda Peters Designs.

Signed Paperback copy of So You Think You’re a Celebrity … Chef?(UK)


Kindle Gift Copy of So You Think You’re a Celebrity … Chef?(International)



a Rafflecopter giveaway




Date
Tour info
4th October
7th October
8th October
9th October
10th October
11th October
14th October
15th October
16th October
17th October
18th October
21st October
22nd October
23rd October
24th October
25th October
28th October
Review jgrwriter
29th October
30th October
31st October


5 comments:

  1. Fascinating look behind the scenes and background to the book. I enjoyed every page of this book and wish Caroline every success. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  2. Thank you Kit. Caroline writes fun books!

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  3. Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog Lisa - it was lovely to stop off here and talk about my travels during the research for So, You Think You're A Celebrity...Chef? Love your blog :-)

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  4. Thank you for hosting on Caroline's tour today Lisa.

    Love finding out about the locations and why!

    Shaz

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  5. Thank you Caroline. It was a fun post, and I loved my guest blog post with the different locations too. Thanks again. It seems as if it's been a successful tour. :)

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a message and thanks for visiting my blog.