Contemporary
Romance/Women's Fiction
Title: The Restaurant
Author:
Linn B. Halton
Date to be Published: 8/2/12
Publisher: Sapphire Publishing
Synopsis:
Age, relationships, and careers – we are all unique. Yet beneath the
exterior facade we choose
to show to the world at large, what do we have in common? The things we
bury deep inside; the
worries and fears we are unable to verbalize, and the hand fate takes in
our lives is a common
thread. Sometimes we fail to recognize in each other that innermost
struggle on the path to true
love.
Six very different stories, six couples linked by The Restaurant @ The
Mill, owned by Hilary
Marks and Ben Adams. As the restaurant thrives the atmosphere is alive with
conversation,
snapshots of lives unfolding; each one a personal
journey.
Linn B. Halton
Visit Linn’s author page:
My Review:
After reading The Quinessential Gemini, I was so ready to read The Restaurant @ the Mill! I was so delighted with reading this book....we are all people, we have our careers, our passions, our joys and our disappointments, but when reduced to our lowest elements, we all want to be loved and to be accepted by those who make our lives livable. Ben and Hilary own the Restaurant at the Mill, which includes a resident ghost walking the interior and peering into the fast paced lives and the pain filled lives that visit the mill. That would be Sarah, non intrusive but affected by the lives visiting the historical mill. Ben and Hilary, although married have communication issues. Ben is fearful and withdrawn and makes it difficult to communicate to Hilary how very much he loves her and appreciates her.
Sadie and Sam have a lot to work out as well. Sam used to be Sadie's sister, Mya's boyfriend, but now that Mya is gone, can she convince Sam to Love her? Visitor's to the inn include Grace and Lawrence who were young lovers torn apart by their families and are now coming together in their golden years. Grace has a secret she needs to share with Lawrence, but what will the revelation do to their second chance at love? Thomas lost his first love Catherine years ago also....now that he is wealthy and she is again single, will they be able to build a life together? Nick and Charlotte had it all when fate knocked a little harshly on their door...now they have a child and do not how to live together. Will they make it through the hard times? And then my favorite couple who visit the Mill, David and Isobel, married to their soul mates, children grown and David retires and is at loose ends. Isobel has become active in a writing group & questions why she is taken with a widower who she met while dogwalking...will she act on her attraction to him?
All these folks were developed in a very rounded fashion and you come away feeling like you really know them and can understand their individual fears and frustrations and you want them all to be happy....just as Sarah does.
I can not compliment Linn B Halton enough for sharing her amazing cast of characters with the reader...at least this reader. I want to be one of the gang at the mill. I'd like Sarah to try to sort me out. And one thing I noticed is that Chapter headings indicate what character is speaking and it's so much easier to follow what is being said by knowing that up front! I honestly recommend this book...it is all about love and how we struggle with honesty, overcoming our fears, and learning to live life to the fullest! Well Done ! Very well done indeed!
The second is the amount of
work involved once you have your completed manuscript in your hand. Earlier this year I signed a contract with
Sapphire Star Publishing and I have learnt so much from
Guest Post: What has surprised you since you began writing?
Please welcome Linn B Halton to Beth Art From the Heart today! Lynn, please feel free to carry on!
Wow – where do I begin answering this
question? There was never a doubt in my
mind that I would reach that point in my life when I would have the time to sit
down and write. However, even from a
young age I instinctively knew that I was going to have a busy life full of
many things, before I reached that stage.
So I married, had two children and two very different careers before I
finally sat down in front of that blank pc screen in April 2009.
I wasn’t surprised that I wrote five manuscripts in
quick succession. What did surprise me
was that I hadn’t thought about what happened next. So the answer is there are three very
distinct things have really surprised
me.
The first is that it’s an exciting time to be a new
writer and anything is possible. You can
surf the net and are spoilt for a never ending flow of advice, pointers and
tips on how to submit to agents and publishers, or even self-publish. The other side of that however is it means
making decisions - in my case before I really knew what I was doing and it was
a baptism by fire! However, the people I
have met along the way – mostly other new authors and book reviewers – have
been kind, amazingly helpful and supportive.
the SSP team since I’ve been working with
them. I feel I am on a steep learning
curve but the upside is that I am enjoying every single minute. Attracting a publisher was also a big
surprise because it was a fluke – I was about to self-publish The Quintessential Gemini when I saw a
Tweet from SSP calling for submissions.
I have no idea why I suddenly decided to go for it, but am so very glad
I did!
The third is perhaps the most amazing of all. I still (patiently) take each day as it comes
in relation to my writing – unusual for me as I’m a planner and normally
focussed on some major goal way ahead of me.
My goals at the moment revolve around deadlines – edits, proof reading,
improving my website and promoting my books etc. I’m not sure what the future will hold, but
it doesn’t worry me because I don’t regard this as work. I’m not saying it’s easy at times, or that it
doesn’t involve very long hours to the exclusion of a lot of other things in my
life, but just doing this is the realisation of a dream. Every time a reader posts a review or someone
is kind enough to give me some feedback about my work, it’s a real thrill. I feel honoured someone picks my book to read
out of the millions of books out there and that gives me a real sense of
purpose. I’m probably one of the most
‘surprised’ new writers out there (laugh) and I’m loving every new surprise as
it comes along …..
me: Thank you Linn! May you find many more happy surprises as you journey on! I call them happy little blessings! (audience claps and cheers)
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not
necessarily
agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this
review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16
CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in
Advertising*
