Y’all, this has got to be one of the best covers I’ve seen in ages … and it is getting reviews over on Goodreads that are just a fantastic!

Releasing this week, make a note to get your hands on a copy – guaranteed to give you cravings 🙂

*****

Sweet Pursuits

a Saffron Sweeting novel

by Pauline Wiles

Blurb:

What’s the recipe for a second chance at love?

After six blissful years with scientist boyfriend Owen, Bella Beecham was convinced he was about to pop the question she’d been longing to hear. Instead, he accepted a prestigious job in California and left England without a backwards glance. Now, Owen’s back in the village of Saffron Sweeting, and appears to be more eligible than ever. Bella’s determined that the man of her dreams won’t slip through her fingers again.

But her plans to tone up, trim down, and tempt Owen back into her life prove bittersweet. Although Bella’s talent for baking wins her new friends, her tasty treats have a disconcerting tendency to sabotage her own intentions. And as her increasingly bold attempts to recapture Owen’s heart stumble, Bella must question whether she’s chasing a guy who wants to be caught.

A British romantic comedy featuring both familiar characters and fresh faces, Sweet Pursuits explores how a young woman seeking her soulmate must first learn to love herself.

Where to Find a Copy – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0SCKLJ/  or http://mybook.to/sweetpursuits

*****

Excerpt:

With hindsight, buying my dream wedding dress before Owen had actually got down on one knee may have been a mistake. But it was so exquisite, and such an incredible bargain at sixty per cent off. And I was so certain that one day soon I would be walking up a peony-scented church aisle towards him, that I took the gamble. It was the sensible, economic thing to do, after all. Weddings are expensive and, on his meagre academic salary, I knew Owen would appreciate my thriftiness.

Except appreciative didn’t exactly describe his reaction.

‘Bella, what in the name of God is that?’ He threw the Vera Wang gown, still in its garment cover, on our bed.

‘Oh!’ I was admittedly unprepared for this conversation. He rarely, if ever, delved into the airing cupboard. ‘You’ve found it.’

‘It looks,’ he said, backing away as if it were a white tiger which might spring up and attack him, ‘like a wedding dress.’

‘Er, yes.’ I sensed from his tone that the timing of this momentous discovery might be off. I attempted distraction. ‘What were you doing in the airing cupboard?’ Ironing pillow cases and placing them neatly on the slatted shelves next to our aging boiler was not Owen’s scene.

‘Looking for a suitcase,’ he said, his face as pale as the dress.

‘Why do you need a suitcase?’

By now Owen was pressed against the wall, in a curious impression of a man on a cliff ledge. ‘Job interview.’ He’d barely taken his eyes off the gown.

‘Where?’ I asked, at precisely the same moment he said, ‘Is it yours?’

‘Well, yes,’ I laughed. ‘With two bachelor brothers, it’s not like I’m storing it for them.’

I saw him swallow. Twice.

‘So, where did you say?’ I asked again, thinking he wouldn’t need to stay the night in London or Oxford, so it must be further, like Manchester or Leeds. I wasn’t sure how I felt about moving away from Cambridge.

He didn’t answer.

‘Owen,’ I tutted. ‘You’re being all strange. Where’s your job interview?’

Finally he looked at me, his expression a blank mask. ‘California.’

*****

Author Info:

British by birth, Pauline is now a contented resident of California, although she admits to occasional yearnings for afternoon tea and historic homes.

Her work has been published by House of Fifty, Open Exchange and Alfie Dog Fiction. Her debut novel, Saving Saffron Sweeting was a quarter-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and a number one Kindle best seller.

Contact the Author

email            web@paulinewiles.com

phone           (650) 260-5560

web              www.paulinewiles.com

twitter          @PaulineWiles

facebook      www.facebook.com/scribinglimey

*****