It Started With a Giggle is the third in Kirsty Ferry’s Schubert series of novellas. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the other two though. This is a standalone story linked by a few characters who were in the previous books, most notably Schubert of course. Schubert is the black cat on the front cover and even though I’m not a cat lover, it’s hard not to appreciate Schubert!
Single mum Liza (rhymes with Tizer) is on a rare night out in Edinburgh when she meets a rather attractive man, Scott McCreadie. While chatting she reveals to him that she has spotted the perfect empty shop where she hopes to fulfill her dream of opening an ‘arty-crafty-booky’ shop. However, Scott is also on the lookout for new premises for his interior design business so before long, they are rivals for the premises. An unusual solution is reached and the pair reach a rather uneasy truce.
I really enjoyed reading this and liked the way the chapters were told from both Liza and Scott’s points of view. It was good to hear how both interpreted the same situations which was quite often rather differently! It soon became apparent that they had rather more in common than they thought. Of the other characters, Scott’s sister Nessa is as mysterious as ever and Liza’s daughter Isa was a fabulously feisty pre-teen! Schubert, Nessa’s enormous rather grumpy cat, steals the scene any time he appears. I also enjoyed the references to Edinburgh and working out where all the places mentioned were likely to be.
It Started with a Giggle is a warm and romantic novella with just a hint of magic about it. With engaging characters, lots to make you giggle and a few heart-stopping moments, it’s sure to leave you with a smile on your face.
My thanks to Liz at publishers ChocLit for my review copy of the book. It Started With a Giggle will be published as an ebook and audio download on 21st January. You will find buying options for the various ebook retailers on the ChocLit website here: It Started with a Giggle
From the back of the book
Sometimes the best things start in the strangest ways …. with a giggle!
On a night out in Edinburgh, single mum Liza-Belle Graham finds herself revealing her hopes and dreams to a green-eyed stranger. Liza always wanted to run an “arty-crafty-booky” business, and she’s seen the perfect empty shop to make her dreams a reality. No harm in telling the stranger. It’s not like she’ll see him again …
But Scott McCreadie is no mystery man – he’s an interior designer looking for new premises. And who does Liza bump into when she arranges a viewing? None other than Scott trying to steal her perfect shop!
Is Liza’s arty-crafty-booky dream in jeopardy, or is a new dream about to begin?
About the author
Kirsty Ferry is from the North East of England and lives there with her husband and son. She won the English Heritage/Belsay Hall National Creative Writing competition and has had articles and short stories published in various magazines. Her work also appears in several anthologies, incorporating such diverse themes as vampires, crime, angels and more.
Kirsty loves writing ghostly mysteries and interweaving fact and fiction. The research is almost as much fun as writing the book itself, and if she can add a wonderful setting and a dollop of history, that’s even better.
Her day job involves sharing a building with an eclectic collection of ghosts, which can often prove rather interesting.
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