Showing posts with label Love Notes from Vinegar House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Notes from Vinegar House. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Love Notes from Vinegar House Blog Tour - Author Q & A

Hey guys! Today, I have a lovely Q&A with Karen Tayleur, author of Love Notes from Vinegar House! If you've read my review, then you'll remember how much I enjoyed reading the book! I love how haunting, chilling and gorgeously written this book was. Isn't the cover quite creepy but gorgeous too? I think it reflects the story well! I would also like to thank Jennifer from Walker Books Australia for putting this blog tour together! Anyway, onto the Q&A...
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What inspired you to write Love Notes from Vinegar House?

I love a good gothic novel, so I set myself the task to write one. The combination of a love interest, mystery and things that go bump in the night is a lot of fun.

Have you ever experienced anything strange like Freya, Rumer and the mysterious love notes in the book?

As a teenager I had a recurring dream about an event that took place in a time when the women wore long skirted outfits, their hair dressed elaborately - hard to pinpoint when this was. I do remember the location - the ballroom where the event took place. It had several marble fireplaces and I was not part of the festivities but sat on the mantlepiece of one of the fireplaces watching the intricate dance steps and the chatter.
I told my best friend about the dream - we loved to scare ourselves with the idea of ghosts and things that could not be explained.
Much later, at my engagement party, my friend took me aside and pointed out the marble fireplaces.
The layout of the ballroom was the same.
It was the home of my future husband - he lived in a huge old homestead.
Pretty interesting...

What is the scariest book you've ever read and the scariest movie you've ever watched?

The Shining.
I think it was the combination of horror and not knowing the line between reality and what was happening in the protagonist's mind.
A black and white movie when I was a kid about a man who had an illness which caused him to fall into a deep coma and appear dead. He spent his life convinced he would be buried alive. There was a haunting tune that was whistled in the fog. Very spooky...

If you had the choice of living in a hotel known to be 'haunted' or vinegar house, which one would you choose and why?

I love Vinegar House. It's comfortable and a bit tatty and it has history. And it has Mrs Skelton who can always guarantee an overcooked lemon tart or roast, or Luke Hart casually working up a sweat outside in the garden. Of course, you can't leave your room in the middle of the night...

What do you think of the cover of Love Notes from Vinegar House?

I love it - aren't those designers clever? It really evokes the spooky midnight mystery of Vinegar House which is at its scariest in the wee hours of the morning. Covers are very hard to get right. I hope my readers like it.

Quick questions:
Chocolate or chips?
Chocolate, unless I'm angry and then I'll have chips.

Ghosts or Vampires?
Ghosts, more romantic and not as messy.

Indoors or outdoors?
Indoors, unless I'm camping strangely enough...

 
Add the book:
 
Where to buy? 
Find Karen Tayleur at:
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Oh I absolutely love Karen's answers! And Karen's experience with her dream was interesting. I haven't actually heard of The Shining but I did a little Google search and found out that it was written by Stephen King! It sounds really scary. The cover of Love Notes from Vinegar House is gorgeous. I love how Karen preferred ghosts over vampires and chocolates. I LOVE CHOCOLATES TOO! Thank you Karen for taking her time to answer the questions and Jennifer from Walker Books Australia for putting this blog tour together!  

Thursday, 28 June 2012

#121 Book Review: Love Notes from Vinegar House

Love Notes from Vinegar House
Release Date: May 1st 2012
Author: Karen Tayleur
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Fishpond
More Info: Goodreads
Summary from Goodreads:
A gothic romance-thriller – think Rebecca meets Gossip Girl.

“There are some things you should know about me if we are going to be friends. Like I don’t believe in ghosts.”

Freya Jackson Kramer has done some stupid things before, but this is the first time they’ve been splashed across Facebook. When she escapes to Vinegar House for the holidays, she thinks she’s leaving her troubles behind. But Freya’s troubles are just beginning.

How will she deal with her manipulative cousin, Rumer? How can she avoid the ex-love of her life, Luke Hart? And what secrets lie in the locked attic? This is a book for readers who believe in ghosts, for readers who disbelieve, and for those who are still sitting on the fence.
Cover:
The cover looks so creepy and scary! I think the room is the blue room in Vinegar House. The cover suits the book well!

Story:

Do you believe in ghosts?

Love Notes from Vinegar House is a chilling, creepy yet funny and sweet book at the same time. When I first saw the title of the book, I found the title very strange and rare. Why Vinegar House? To be precise, why is the house called Vinegar? And the book completely answered my questions. It has been a while since I read a book about ghosts (as in not books where the character falls in love with ghosts, etc). I expected a scary and super duper creepy book but it's not like that at all! The book does talk about ghosts but nothing too extreme. 

Love Notes from Vinegar House is about finding out the secrets in Vinegar House, love story, ghosts and annoying cousin. I really enjoyed reading the story and how the book addresses the readers, asking you questions that makes you think whether ghosts do exist in the world? Written from Freya's POV, I was completely immersed in Freya's story. Tayleur's writing was hillarious, funny but also chilling. I love how the book ended. It wrapped up the whole book nicely!

Characters:
Freya was a great character and narrator as well. I loved reading the book from her POV, her feelings about ghosts, Vinegar House, her cousin and her crush. I also loved how she addressed us, the readers, by asking us questions about different things! Rumer was an annoying and bossy cousin of Freya. I completely understood how Freya hated her. Although, she became nicer towards the end of the book. Luke Hart, Freya's crush, was cute as well. I love the way he called Freya 'shrimp' and how happy he made Freya feel. Grandma Vinegar was quite scary and was a great addition to the characters in the book! The characters felt so real and they were all very enjoyable to read about!
  
Overall:
Love Notes from Vinegar House is a gorgeous, haunting and chilling novel. Karen Tayleur's wonderful writing brings you a story of love, ghosts, annoying cousin and a mysterious house. By the end of the book, you will wonder whether ghosts do exist in this world...
4 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Love Notes from Vinegar House!

 Thank you Walker Books Australia for the review copy!
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