Spotlight & Giveaway: It Started with a Secret by Jill Mansell

Posted June 2nd, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 37 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jill Mansell to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

Hi Jill and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, It Started with a Secret!

 
Hello, hello, it’s so lovely to be here on one of my favourite blogs! I’m speaking to you in an excitable British accent, like the royal family but less posh. And yes, I’m also drinking a cup of tea…
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

The trouble with secrets is that you can’t guess what the consequences will be . . .

Lainey has lost everything. Luckily one little fib (OK, quite a big fib) helps nail her dream job. Soon she’s living in a stunning house by the sea, fending off obsessed fans for a retired – if far-from-retiring – actor and organising his charming but chaotic family. It’s definitely worth the challenge of keeping her secret.
At least Lainey isn’t looking for love. It’s time for a break from all that. And yet . . . Seth, the actor’s grandson, really is rather attractive. There’s growing chemistry and a definite connection between them. But how would he react if he knew she hadn’t been honest with him?
Lainey’s not the only one with a secret, though. Seth has one of his own. And everything’s about to start unravelling . . .
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Take a look below at the scene that had me laughing!

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

If you’ve ever seen the gorgeous Richard Curtis movie About Time, you’ll have seen the stunning white house overlooking the sea in Cornwall that was the inspiration for the big family home in this book. It was so lovely to imagine my characters living in it. (One of my friends, fellow writer Liz Fenwick, has actually stayed in the real one, which is called Porthpean House – it’s rentable!Look, here it is… https://hookedonhouses.net/2015/11/19/the-cornish-beach-house-from-the-movie-about-time/

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Not much at all – this most definitely isn’t a case of love at first sight! They both get a bad first impression of each other so it’s a very slow burn…it takes a while for them to break down the barriers. And after that…well, it’s humour that does it, every time. A quick wit, coupled with the ability to tease and make each other laugh. Plus, there’s that magical chemistry when two people realise how attracted they are to each other, even when they don’t want to be, because it’s going to really complicate matters and cause all sorts of chaos…

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

This scene made me laugh. Sir Richard was a dream character to write – he’s old, he’s wicked, he’s used to being adored and he’s naughty. Here he is, interrupting Lainey and Kit’s job interview, alarmed to discover there’s no gin left in the house…

He was an actual national treasure, currently wearing a Hawaiian shirt and cream linen trousers whilst he rummaged in the fridge before finally locating a can of Fevertree tonic.
“If you finished the last bottle,” Majella said patiently, “there isn’t any more gin.”
“Well this is a disaster.” Richard clutched his heart. “It’s worse than a disaster. Darling girls, which of you two would like to pop down to the off licence and pick me up a litre of Tanqueray?”
“Granddad, they won’t let us buy it.” By the sound of Violet’s voice, this wasn’t the first time they’d been asked. “We’re only just seventeen.”
“But surely you can use your fake IDs?”
India said, “They know we aren’t eighteen though.” She grinned at Kit. “It’s the price of fame.”
“I’d go myself,” said Sir Richard, “but my hip’s playing up.” His forehead creased with the kind of despair conveyed by a castaway on a desert island when the rescue plane flies off without spotting him. His shoulders drooped and the fingers of his free hand rested against his sternum in defeat.

 

Readers should read this book….

Because it will make you laugh, cry and think about how you’d react if you found yourself in the same situations as the characters. They should also read it if they want to be cheered up!

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m just putting the finishing touches to my next novel, titled And Now You’re Back, which is about what happens when out of the blue your first love reappears in your life. The setting was inspired by a wonderful hotel I stayed in last year whilst appearing at a book event in the Cotswolds. I adore basing a book around a hotel almost as much as I love staying in them…
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: A copy of Jill Mansell’s It Started with a Secret and Maybe This Time to a lucky winner! US only

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Nothing in the world beats a good meet-cute – I love them so much! Does anyone have a funny/embarrassing/romantic story about how they met their partner? I’ll write them all down in my gorgeous Christian Lacroix notebook and might use them in future novels!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from It Started with a Secret:

And here’s the rest of the scene I quoted from earlier:

“I know where the off licence is,” said Kit. “We passed it on out way here. If you’d like me to, I could go.”
The shoulders lifted and the agony in Sir Richard’s face was replaced by sheer joy. The pilot of the rescue plane had spotted the castaway after all and was coming back to save him.
“Well I didn’t like the other couples anyway.” Sir Richard slid a couple of twenty pound notes out of his wallet and handed them to Kit. “But now you’re indisputably my favourites.”
“I’ll shoot down there as soon as we’ve finished being interviewed,” Kit assured him.
“Oh, but I was rather hoping you could run down there now, dear boy. My liver’s starting to think my throat’s been cut. Besides, how would I know for sure that you’d be back? You might bugger off with my money and we’d never clap eyes on you again.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I’m very honest. We both are.” Kit assured him. “You can trust us completely.”
“Good to know, dear boy. Right then, off you pop. We’ll see you back here in no time.”
Sir Richard ushered Kit out of the house, then popped his head back around the kitchen door. “If anybody needs me, I’ll be in the garden.”
“You’re supposed to be sitting in on the interview.” Seth sounded exasperated.
“I’ve already told you, I like this couple best.”
“What about the questions you wanted to ask?”
“Fine.” With a sigh, Sir Richard leaned against the doorjamb and fixed his gaze on Lainey. “Have you ever been arrested?”
“No.”
“Not even once? How disappointing. Do you drive too fast or too slowly?”
“Neither,” said Lainey. “I drive just right.”
“Ever been stopped by the police for speeding?”
“Yes.”
“And did you get a ticket, or manage to talk your way out of one?”
“Talked my way out of it.”
He beamed his approval. “Good girl, that’s what I like to hear. And do you like mustard?”
“Can’t stand it.” Lainey pulled a face at the very thought; mustard was the bane of her life.
“No more questions.” Sir Richard turned his attention to Seth and Majella. “Passed with flying colours. This is the one for me.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Their happy-ever-after is within reach…but only if they’re willing to tell the truth.

Lainey and Kit arrive at their new jobs in blissful, summery Cornwall only to find themselves in the midst of a lovable but chaotic family—where every member is having an identity crisis at the same time. Widowed mom Majella has done her best for years, but can’t quite grasp why things are falling apart. It’s what she doesn’t know that’s causing the chaos, because everyone is keeping secrets.

In classic Jill Mansell style, our heroine and her friends are drawn through a hilarious multi-generational soap opera in which, by the end, happily-ever-afters are available to anyone willing to tell the truth about their heart’s desire.
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes |
 
 

Meet the Author:

With over 13 million copies sold worldwide and over 700,000 in the US, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author JILL MANSELL writes irresistible and funny, poignant and romantic tales for women in the tradition of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella, and Jojo Moyes. She lives with her partner and their children in Bristol, England.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GoodReads |
 
 
 

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37 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: It Started with a Secret by Jill Mansell”

  3. Debra Guyette

    I met my husband in the parking lot of the commissary on a base. My brother in law did not think he was good enough and would not introduce us.

  8. Karina Angeles

    I met my hubby at Hooters. I was my sister’s date to her friend’s birthday party. My sister and I were the only girls ( besides the Hooters waitresses). The birthday boy (25th birthday) wouldn’t leave me alone. He said the waitresses all looked like sea-donkeys and I was pretty. I found him highly annoying. We’ve been married for 12 years.

  12. laurieg72

    I met my future husband my Junior year of college (fall) when he started dating one of my roommates. He came to our apartment to pick up my roommate to go biking. I was the only one home. I had just returned from class and I was in the process of changing to go biking. Unaware I went to answer the door in my bathrobe. It covered me from head to toe with a hood so not scandalous at all. I did ask him to come in and wait for Ellen. Now when he retells the story it sounds like I was wearing a really skimpy cover up! To add more info, we did not start dating until the start of my Senior year. He never got serious with Ellen. I was no longer living at that apartment or with any of those roommates when we started dating.

    He also remembers trying to talk to me at a party again my Junior year of college ( spring). I was talking to a different guy I had just started dating. He says I totally shot him down and ignored him. I don’t remember it at all.

  13. Kathleen Bylsma

    I met my late husband of 43 years at the local, when he stepped in to protect my sister and me from being harassed by an obnoxious drunk. He was my age but so inexperienced, I kept chasing him away but you see how well that worked…I miss him so much

  15. Glenda M

    I came halfway across the country for a 3 month job assignment. His office mate was out for the afternoon so I shared his office that day. The job only lasted 3 months, but I’ve been here for 29 years.

  19. holdenj

    We met at work, but the only reason he said hello was that he had met a childhood friend of my mom’s at their family holiday party and she told him to find me and say hi! Small world stuff for sure.

  20. Barbara Bates

    I met my husband at a dance club called The Teen Scene. I was 16 and he was 18. We fell in love and this August will be married 49yrs.

  21. Shannon Capelle

    I met my husband at work as teenagers. He had to train me how to make burgers and what to out on them he was really rude about it. I didnt like him at first. Then we hung out as a group of us and got to be friends and then started dating. 6 months later we got married and its been 22 years and 4 kids later.

  23. Lori Byrd

    I knocked on his door selling Avon. He said when he saw me with my toes hanging over my flip flops, it was love. He was my best customer. That was 33 years ago. I’m still with him.

  28. Terrill R.

    My husband and I noticed each other at the gym every morning for about a month, but it was (4 hours away) at Whistler BC that we ran into each other in a pub and talked for the first time.

  29. Nicole (Nicky) Ortiz

    Sorry don’t have a cute meet story
    Thanks for the chance!

  33. Sharlene Wegner

    I’m a huge fan of Jill’s! My meet cute is that we worked for the same company in the same building and never met. We were introduced at a happy hour, but he was interested in someone else. The next day, we met again at the gym and started talking. It turns out we lived a mile apart. We both stopped dating who we were with, and the rest is history! We’ve been married for 29 years. 🙂

  34. Amy R

    I slammed the door in my husbands face because I thought he was his twin who I was angry at. His twin was dating my BFF.

  37. Linda Shaw

    I was going to a movie with my friend who had to stop at a nearby craft/ gardening store on the way to the flick. She ‘just happened’ to see the store manager (who was a friend of her boyfriend) and introduced us — in the fertilizer aisle. Yes, love bloomed in that aisle and we’ve been married for 34 years now!