Jencey's Writer's Corner

  Welcome to the read of the summer!  This book has a little bit of everything, including mystery, romance, and history.  You are either in, or you're out.  Does this affect a resort that the same family has owned for years?  Nothing says beach reads like Mary Kay Andrews. Synopsis:  “Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estran...

It is time for the summer beach reads to commence when the time comes to debut the latest Mary Kay Andrews novel.  This year will be no exception with Sunset Beach! “Nothing says the start of Summer like a new book from Mary Kay Andrews...An irresistible story of love, friendship, and skinny-dipping…fun, light-hearted, and thoroughly enjoyable.” — PopSugar “Andrews knows how to tell a beachy saga and smoothly balance many plot threads. In this memorable yarn, richer than a typical breezy read...there are old scores to settle, old secrets, and a long-ago murder in the mix.” — Atlanta Journal Constitution “Drue Campbell’s life and career have recently been derailed. The only thing she has left is the house her mother left her: a ramshackle  beach  bungalow with a missing roof in the once-sleepy town of  Sunset Beach , which is rapidly becoming a hot spot for the rich and well-heeled, who are none too pleased about the shabby eyesore in their perfect neighborho...

Thank you to Tandem Literary and St. Martin’s Press for sending me a copy of The High TideClub by Mary Kay Andrews.   I was given this copy in exchange for an honest review. The month of May 2018 is the 8 th anniversary of Writer’s Corner.   Today we celebrate with a review and giveaway of The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews.   The giveaway will run from the 24 the   to the 31 of May.   I always look forward each year to sharing the next book by Mary Kay Andrews and this year is no exception.   Are you ready for some fun? Synopsis: One night in October 1941 an engagement party took place on Talisa Island the home of the Bettendorfs.   This engagement party is for Millie a friend of Josephine Bettendorf.   At the party Millie is dancing with Josephine’s brother Gardiner when her fiancé Russell Strickland suddenly notices, and pulls her away from Gardiner roughly.     Gardiner   confronts   Russell and threatens tha...

This year Mary Kay Andrews (MKA) is sharing her Beach House cookbook with us.  If you know MKA then her books all revolve around the beach.  So it is only appropriate that the cookbook is represented as well.  It features highlights from her Kay’s family recipes.  I am a baker at heart so I love to cook! I am also looking forward to trying one of her recipes.   So let’s take a look at this fabulous cookbook! Synopsis: “You don’t have to own a beach house to enjoy Mary Kay Andrews’ recipes. All you need is an appetite for delicious, casual dishes, cooked with the best fresh, local ingredients and presented with the breezy flair that make Mary Kay Andrews’ novels a summertime favorite at the beach. From an early spring dinner of cherry balsamic-glazed pork medallions and bacon-kissed Brussels sprouts to Fourth of July buttermilk-brined fried chicken, potato salad, and pudding parfaits to her New Year’s Day Open House menu of roast oysters, hom...

Happy New Year!  My apologies for being a little behind this month!  I thought that I would share the top novels at Writer’s Corner in 2016. Once again these novels may or may not have been published in the previous year. Drum roll please…The novels are:  The first novel is Juliet by Anne Fortier Julie and Janice Jacobs are going home to deal with the death of their Aunt Rose. The will is read and Janice gets the house and everything in it. Julie gets a key with a plane ticket to go to Italy. Her mission is to find out what her mother wanted her to know about the past and a possible treasure. Julie Jacobs becomes Giulietta Tolemeis which is her given name. Part of her search is to search for Romeo and all the people that are connected to the story. Julie picks up a box that includes a story about the real Romeo and Juliet. What was there story? How can the current Romeo and Juliet break the curse placed on the houses of Tolemeis and Salimbeni? Will there be a ha...

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for a copy of The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews.  This copy is given to me in exchange for an honest review.  I also have one copy of the Weekenders to give away. Mary Kay Andrews brings us another great story for the summer.  This time it includes a mystery as well as romance.  The story is set in North Carolina on a fictional Island named Belle Isle.  This story follows the main character Riley Griggs. She discovers a little about herself and her family. Synopsis: Riley and her daughter Maggie are leaving Raleigh for the summer to spend it on Belle Isle. They meet their good friends Ed and Parrish Godchaux.  Riley receives documents at the ferry landing that she thinks are divorce papers.  When Riley and Maggie arrive at their house there is a full closure notice tacked onto the door.  The trip to Wells Fargo helps Riley to start putting the pieces together.  She finds out what Wendell has ...

I have the opportunity to offer a goody’s bag to celebrate the paperback releases of BeachTown and Spring Fever in mass market.  We are also excited about the upcoming book by Mary Kay Andrews The   Weekenders .  So what’s in the goodys bag? Here’s a list of what will be in the fabulous goody bag: •  Copy of BEACH TOWN in trade paperback •  Copy of SPRING FEVER in mass market paperback •  Two different Mary Kay Andrews bookmarks •  A recipe card featuring two recipes from MKA’s kitchen •  BEACH TOWN sunglasses •  BEACH TOWN lip balm with SPF 15 Please visit the rafflecopter below. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you ready for the latest adventure from Mary Kay Andrews?   Thank you to St. Martins Press and Tandem Literary for a copy of Beach Town.   This novel was given to me in exchange for an honest review.    Now onto the novel!   Synopsis:   Greer Hennessey is a Location Manager for the motion picture industry.   The title of the picture is Beach Town.   Now to find that Beach Town and will fulfill the director’s vision.   She stumbles upon Cypress Key a down on its luck town in Northern Florida.   Small towns are nothing like working in the big city. How successful will Greer be in getting the locations she wants for the movie shoot?   One morning she meets the mayor of the town Eben Thibodaux who does not make it easy for her to accomplish her goals.   Will they agree on anything? My Thoughts:   Another great summer read by Mary Kay Andrews!   I enjoyed reading about what it is like to work on a ...

The main character in Beach Town , Greer Hennessey, is a movie location scout. What made you choose to write about Hollywood and the movie business? .  I’m the nerd still sitting in a darkened theatre waiting for the location credits to roll at the end of every movie. I’ve always been a big movie buff—and I’m always as intrigued by the real settings of films as I am with the film itself. Also, my daughter Katie issues filming permits for some of the dozens and dozens of film, television and advertising shoots that take place every year in our town.   What research did you do into the movie business and the various roles on a movie set when writing Beach Town ?   I actually went out to L.A. to research the places where Greer lived and worked. I took the Paramount Studio tour, visited a movie costume house, and shadowed a film location scout during a shoot in Atlanta. I interviewed three location managers and the hair and make-up artist who became th...