Carla Sarett's Blog: Georgina Ramsey

Georgina Ramsey lives in the North of England with her husband, son and numerous animals. She has been a teacher, and broke into the Indie market in 2013 with the release of ‘Love, Life & Cream Cakes!’

Here is what she contributes for Valentine's Month.

I asked my husband the other day what ‘romance’ meant to him.

His reply: “Romance? Nah, it doesn’t really exist!”

I faltered. It seemed that to him, romance was no different to a cheese and pickled onion sandwich! (The idea of which is quite appealing, but it requires a bit of effort to pull off, and there are easier options in the cupboard.) Now, I could have taken his remark as an insult. I might have concluded our cat arguably has more romance in his left paw – at least he bothers to bring me the occasional gift! But I didn’t feel dejected. I decided that my husband is misinformed.

I blame the Hollywood Effect.

My husband, by the way, hates romcom movies (he says they’re not “real life”) so I used to sit and watch them by myself, with a bar of chocolate and a nice cup of tea. Now what’s the Hollywood version of romance?

Well, you shower your special someone with spectacular presents costing the Earth, a la ‘Pretty Woman. You make a gesture that requires months of planning. A flash mob, perhaps? If you combine the two you’ve scored!

Patrick Dempsey’s hero in ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ whisks Reece Witherspoon’s heroine to Tiffany’s afterhours to pick any engagement ring she wants. You find me a woman who did not swoon. I don’t fancy Patrick Dempsey, but with that kind of wooing I could be persuaded! I worry that the Hollywood Effect has resulted in a chunk of the population feeling incapable of pulling off a romantic gesture.

Yes, there’s something magical about fantasies like Cinderella. I admit that one of my earlier novels (‘Sex, Lies & Corned Beef Pies!’) is a modern day Cinderella story. But my latest romantic comedy, ‘When Love Feels Like A Pocket Full Of Snails,’ is a down to earth look at how couples fall for one another when their paths cross. And I fell for the lead male in this story good and proper when I was writing it!

Romance is about making that special someone feel just that – special. It might be a simple note, a morning selfie, a cuddle or a kiss goodnight. Do you know what? My husband does that each and every day. And when we’re out walking, he offers me his work coat, sometimes smelly. I’d say the romance in my life is pretty perfect.

When Love Feels Like A Pocket Full Of Snails! is available here’

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorginaRamseyAuthor

Humorist and grammarian Tabitha Ormiston-Smith has two reviews of funny books in honor of April's Foolishness. I am happy to see that there are new authors to me, which is always fun-- and women, to boot. Both books are available as Kindle editions on Amazon.

A word to the wise: Tabitha's Grammar Without Tears is a very funny and useful little book-- and at the bottom of the page, you can find more about her.

Sex, Lies and Corned Beef Pies! By Georgina Ramsey

It is not often that I discover a writer who does the kind of writing that I do myself. There's Tom Sharpe, there's Terry Pratchett, there was Kingsley Amis, but on the whole the comic novel is a rare animal. So it was with great, great pleasure that I turned, with increasing speed, the opening pages of Sex, Lies and Corned Beef Pies! The bumbling protagonist, her seriously disturbed neighbors, a sweet old man and a lovable curmudgeon of a cat, all entwined in a tale of love, betrayal, self-discovery and cooking, combine to make this a novel that anyone whose sense of humor hasn't been surgically removed is bound to love.

Sorority Girls With Guns, by Cat Caruthers

A classically constructed comedy, this first novel by a new author sparkles like diamonds on a rich person's poodle. I laughed out loud many times reading it, and could hardly put it down. The characters are beautifully drawn and the action moves inexorably to a beautifully satisfying conclusion worthy of William Gilbert, with much drama and many surprises along the way. The writing is so smooth that I can hardly believe it's the author's first work. The dialogue is realistic, and every word is made to count in this wonderful story. The work is polished, with a very few typos to detract from its perfection. One is left to hope only that Caruthers will prove as prolific as she is talented, and that more books by this gifted writer will follow.

Learn more about Tabitha:

Tabitha Ormiston-Smith