Ninja School Mum

I feel very privileged to welcome the famous author/inventor Lizzie Chantree as the inaugural contributor to my new blog series on settings for books. We are in for a treat…

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Thank you for inviting me onto your blog today Jane to talk about the setting and theme of my latest book, Ninja School Mum.

Zack’s estate and tree climbing business. Cloud Climb

Ninja School Mum, is set amongst the English countryside, on the edge of a bustling village. The main character, Skye, has past and needs to find a new place to stay for herself and her son Leo. Skye rents out a small cottage which backs on to a huge country estate, owned by single parent Zack. Zack has been left the building and grounds by his eccentric grandad and decides that the failing tree climbing business near the entrance to the estate, could be a good way to help his daughter make new friends and for him to have a new challenge, after his wife left him holding the baby.

The whole book is based around a pretty English village, lots of trees and nature and a primary school playground in the village. Skye finds it as hard to hide her true self and fit in with other parents at the school, as her son Leo does with the children there. She uses her little cottage as a refuge to hide from the other parents, but when another child begins to taunt her son, she decides to use the cottage garden to show him how to protect himself. She meets another school mum, Thea, who joins her at the cottage and watches in awe as Skye teaches the children self-defence. Thea begins to wonder who the other woman really is.

This is a painting a reader sent me on Facebook. It’s her interpretation of the view from Skye’s cottage. I was so thrilled to receive it.

Other parents hear of Skye’s new after-school activities and begin to turn up at the cottage with food offerings and children in tow. Soon word spreads and the mother of the naughty child demands an explanation as to why her son has been left out. This is not the only problem in Skye’s life, as she thinks she is being watched and that her past life is catching up on her.

What follows is full of playground gossip, blossoming friendship and sizzling romance as the main characters lives are entwined.

I chose the setting for this book as I love to travel around the UK and there are so many beautiful buildings and gardens to explore, especially some of those run by the National Trust. I often sit in a tearoom in a garden (with a slice of cake) and think about all of the lives and stories that have surrounded the architecture and nature over the years. I always sit by a window if I can and the view inspires me to write modern romance stories of strong, but imperfect women and dashing, but sometimes flawed men. My books always ebb and flow around an entrepreneurial business or idea as I mentor creative businesses in my spare time. Both career paths give me a chance to talk to other creative people and to travel and be inspired by all that is around me. I hope that my books help people to sit for a while and picture themselves somewhere beautiful and for the stories to make them smile.

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Thankyou, Lizzie, for this little gem. I feel we have much in common, as I too am a business mentor and I can dream for hours in the countryside while conjuring up stories.

Lizzie Chantree is an award-winning inventor and author, who started her own business at the age of 18 and became one of Fair Play London and The Patent Office’s British Female Inventors of the Year in 2000. She discovered her love of writing fiction when her children were little and now runs networking hours on social media, where creative businesses, writers, photographers and designers can offer advice and support to each other. She lives with her family on the coast in Essex.

You can buy Lizzie’s book by clicking the picture below:

 Social media links:

Author page: viewAuthor.at/LizzieChantree

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