Ten Fun Facts About Our Last Summer

 

The paperback of Our Last Summer is now out, joining the ebook and audio that were released back in July, and I've put together ten behind-the-scenes fun facts of the book

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

Read My New Short Story For Free

When the bride throws her bouquet, something magical happens to the wannabe brides who try to catch it...

The Bouquet is a fun little rom com with a magical twist that you can read for free when you pre-order the paperback of Our Last Summer. 

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

To get your hands on a copy of The Bouquet, send proof of your pre-order of Our Last Summer to jenni.cjoyce@gmail.com and I'll send it your way!

9 Summers Publication Day

I know I've only just had the publication day for Our Last Summer, but surely I can squeeze another in for my little summer quick read, 9 Summers?

If you're a newsletter subscriber, you may have already read Mary's story as I sent it out in my last three newsletters in bite-sized installments, but you can now read it as a whole as I've released it as a ebook on Amazon. It's just 79p - or free as part of Kindle Unlimited!

9 Summers is a fun and magical time-travel rom com in mini form, so it's perfect for gobbling up in one sitting by the pool or lazing in the garden (if the sun ever makes a return to the UK). If you've read Everything Changes But You, you'll have had the pleasure of meeting Clementine, an angelic wish-come-truer who is a proper dickhead with as much charm as a blister at the beginning of a ten-mile hike, but I'm oddly fond of her and I hope you'll grow to love her too.

If you read 9 Summers (or have already read it via my newsletter), I'd love it it if you popped a little review over on Amazon here. It doesn't have to be an in-depth review - just a few words will help other people find a book they may enjoy.

It took 1 Summer to break Mary's heart but it'll take 9 summers to put it back together again

Mary is supposed to be going away for a fun weekend with her friends, but she cancels at the last minute because she isn't in the mood for a summer festival. She isn't in the mood for much these days, other than curling up on her bed and thinking about her ex. It's been a year since the relationship ended but she can't seem to get over Robert.

But when Mary is taken on a journey by a strange but brutally honest new friend, she starts to see that maybe she's better off without Robert after all...

Amazon UK | Amazon US

Our Last Summer: The Playlist

I like to create playlists for my books and the playlist for Our Last Summer is full of summery hits, plus a couple that relate to the book itself.

There are 32 songs, which you can listen to on Spotify below or you can save it to your own account to listen to whenever you want to!

Our Last Summer Playlist:

Kids In America

Kim Wilde

Summertime

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Rio

Duran Duran

Bring It All Back

S Club 7

Parklife

Blur

The Only Way Is Up

Yazz

One Week

Bare Naked Ladies

In The Summertime

Shaggy, Rayvon

C'est La Vie

B*Witched

The Boys of Summer

Don Henley

Country House

Blur

Walking On Sunshine

Katrina & The Waves

Friday I'm In Love

The Cure

Mambo No. 5 (a Little Bit of...)

Lou Bega

Club Tropicana

Wham!

Venus

Bananarama

Africa

TOTO

Summer of '69

Bryan Adams

In The Summertime

Mungo Jerry

Life Is A Rollercoaster

Ronan Keating

Hey Ya!

Outkast

Bootylicious

Destiny's Child

Miami

Will Smith

All That She Wants

Ace of Base

Whenever, Wherever

Shakira

MMMBop

Hanson

Two Princes

Spin Doctors

Dancing In The Moonlight

Toploader

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)

Spiller, Sophie Ellis-Bexter

Brimful of Asha - Norman Cook Remix

Cornershop, Norman Cook

Cruel Summer

Bananarama

Our Last Summer

ABBA

Our Last Summer: What Inspired The Book?

It was actually a previous book of mine that inspired the story of Our Last Summer.

I was walking my dog, Luna in 2021 when I started to think about a summer-themed time-travel book, along the lines of my festive time-travel rom com, The 12 Christmases of You & Me. Instead of woolly hats and turkey with all the trimmings, there'd be sunshine and beer in pub gardens. Elodie would travel back to 12 summers of her past. It would be called The 12 Summers of You & Me and while in the festive time-travel rom com it is a photo being taken that sends the protagonist back home to the present, there would be a trigger that sent Elodie to the past: the bong! of the assistance button on a plane.

I didn't know why she was on a plane yet. I didn't know what lessons she'd learn from visiting her past self, but the seed of the idea was there. The seed grew. Things changed. Elodie wouldn't be travelling back 12 times (which made my title unusable) but that initial trip on the plane with the bongs! remained and I love the story that emerged.

I wonder if there's a autumn-themed time-travel story to be told. The 12 Halloweens of You & Me, for example...

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

Our Last Summer Publication Day

I'm so excited that Our Last Summer is now available as an ebook. If you've already pre-ordered a copy, it should be waiting for you on your e-reader. If you prefer a paperback, this will be following in September.

I hope you enjoy Elodie's story. Travelling back in time with her was a lot of fun and I hope you have as much fun reading the book as I did writing it! If you read and enjoy the book, I'd love to hear what you think. You can leave a review (they really do make a writer's day) or you can give me a shout on social media (links on the right-hand side of the blog).

I'll be posting book extras here on the blog and on social media, including the playlist and behind-the-scenes fun facts (there's an early on in today's newsletter) so do keep an eye out for those.

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

Our Last Summer - 1 Week To Go!

 

What if you had a second chance with the love of your life?

There's just ONE WEEK to go until the ebook of Our Last Summer is released and I can't wait to share Elodie's story with you. If you've ever wondered what if...? then this could be the book for you as Elodie travels back in time to answer her own what if? question.

Our Last Summer is out in a week but you can pre-order right now so you'll automatically receive your copy on publication day!

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

Our Last Summer - 4 Weeks To Go!

Our Last Summer: The perfect funny and charming romantic comedy to curl up with in summer 2023

There's just four weeks until you can grab a copy of my new summer rom com, Our Last Summer. I had a lot of fun dipping back in time while writing the book and I hope you enjoy Elodie's adventure just as much!

The book is out on 5th July but you can pre-order your copy right now.

I'll be posting my usual Book Extras here on the blog soon, including the book's playlist and behind-the-scenes fun facts and I'll be sharing what inspired me to write Elodie's time-hopping story. Don't forget to sign up to my newsletter to get all my latest news, free short stories and giveaways straight into your inbox. Subscribe here (and you'll also get a free rom com quick read!)

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

Introducing Our Last Summer

I'm delighted to be able to share the title and cover for my brand new book.

Introducing Our Last Summer:

A summer that changed everything. A second chance to put things right.

Four years ago, Elodie Parker left the village of Little Heaton where she’d lived for her entire life. She hasn’t been back since.

Now, with her little sister’s wedding looming, she’s going home again. It should be a time for celebration, but there are things Elodie left behind she’s not ready to face. Not least the love of her life, Tomasz. The man who, if Elodie is really honest, she still loves.

But something magical happens on the flight. As turbulence hits, Elodie is thrown back into the past. It’s eight years ago, the day she met Tomasz for the very first time. Before everything went wrong and Elodie ran away forever.

Can Elodie find a way to change the past – and get the happy ever after she longs for?

Our Last Summer will be out in July but you can pre-order it right now:

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Kobo

I can't wait for Our Last Summer to be out in the world and I'll be sharing 'Book Extras' here on the blog. If you don't want to miss out on my books news, make sure you've subscribed to my newsletter so that it pops straight into your inbox (you'll also get free short stories from me and subscriber-exclusive giveaways - bonus!)

Read My Rom Coms For Free With Kindle Unlimited

 

Whether you're looking for wedding or festive fiction, false identity or fake dates, magical wish-come-true or time travel or even a collection of short stories to dip into, you can read my romantic comedies for free as part of Kindle Unlimited

There are nine books currently available on Kindle Unlimited (but this is subject to change so please do check before you click!):

Sometimes one moment can change your life forever…

Rebecca Riley has always been a bit of a pushover. When her glamorous boss, Vanessa, asks her to jump, she doesn’t just ask how high… she asks if her boss would like her to grab a coffee on the way back down!

So whilst overseeing the renovation of Vanessa’s beautiful countryside home, the last thing Rebecca ever expected was to be mistaken for her boss – or that she would even consider going along with it! Far away from the bustling city and her boss’s demanding ways, could she pretend to be Vanessa and swap lives, just for a little while?

Read Now

One summer can change everything…

Mae has no time for men in her life! Local vet Alfie might be totally gorgeous but she’s far too busy looking after her young daughter and running her little bed & breakfast by the sea.

Willow is in the middle of building her dream home with her husband, Ethan, when disaster strikes. And with every month that passes she secretly worries that her happy ever after will never come true…

Melody only intended to stay in the bustling seaside town for a few days. But when she meets Hugo – the charming man in the ice cream van – she decides to stay a little longer.

It seems the little bed & breakfast is full of surprises!

Read Now

Ruth loves nothing more than curling up in front of the telly with a family-sized bar of chocolate. She doesn’t do diets and she certainly doesn’t do exercise. But all that changes when she’s invited to her school reunion.

Bullied at school for being overweight, Ruth’s first reaction is to rip the invitation into a million pieces. But then Ruth hatches a plan. She’ll lose the weight and arrive at the reunion looking gorgeous and glamorous, leaving her old classmates in awe. Especially her former crush, Zack O’Connell.

With the help of her friends and a new, unbelievably hot colleague, Ruth begins her transformation. With six months until the reunion, losing weight will be a piece of cake, right?

Read Now

Three women. Three weddings. But who will say I do – and who will say I don’t?

Ruth can’t quite believe she’s managed to snag The One but when he proposes, she can finally accept that she’s found her happily ever after. But when Ruth finds herself booking her dream church for just six weeks away, she starts to panic. You can’t plan a whole wedding at such short notice. Can you?

Trina has only just walked down the aisle, but she’s already starting to question whether they can make their marriage work. Will they survive the honeymoon period, or have they just made a very big – and very expensive – mistake?

Erin has somehow found herself agreeing to be a bridesmaid for the tackiest wedding known to man. With drunk hens, ridiculous outfits and a terrifying wedding planner, just what has Erin signed up for?

Read Now

You can choose your friends, but you're pretty much stuck with your family.

Ruth has everything she never dared to hope for: a husband who adores her, a beautiful home, and a job she can just about tolerate. And now she's having a baby. But having zero experience with babies and a pregnancy that isn't quite as blooming as the magazines claim it should be, how will she cope with this stage of her life?

Quinn loves her family, but she sometimes wishes there weren't quite so many of them living under the same roof. But is she ready to fly the nest and build a whole new one with her boyfriend?

Richard's life is pretty great, until a visitor arrives on his doorstep and turns his whole world upside down.

Three friends.

Three families.

A whole lot of drama.

Read Now

Be careful what you wish for...

Ally Richmond is dreading turning thirty and bidding farewell to her youth. And when her husband says he wants to start a family, she begins to panic.

Is this all that life has to offer from now on? Popping out babies and growing old gracefully? She wants a life crammed with glamour and spontaneous adventure, not one full of dirty nappies and night feeds.

When Ally makes a silly birthday wish for a new, exciting life, her wish is granted.

But when Ally is presented with the freedom and opportunities she craves, she soon realises this new life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that there really is no place like home. But can she find her way back - or is she stuck in this new reality forever?

Read Now

Will you…date me?

Delilah James, singleton and smoothie-addict, has six months to find a date for her oldest friend’s wedding. Oh, and to prove to her ex, best man Ben, that she has totally moved on since he dumped her out-of-the-blue nine months, eight days and seventeen hours ago…

So, with her two BFFs playing Cupid, Delilah launches herself into the high-tech, fast-paced and frankly terrifying world of dating. Luckily there’s the hot new guy at work, Adam Sinclair, to practice her flirting on – even if, as a colleague, he’s strictly off-limits!

Yet time’s running out and date after disastrous date forces Delilah to tell a little white lie – and invent a fake boyfriend! But will her secret crush on Adam ruin everything? Does she even care about Ben anymore? And is it too late to untangle her web of lies and take a real date to the wedding…?

Read Now

What if you could go back in time and fix the biggest mistake of your life?

Two years ago, Maisie’s best friend walked out of her life and she hasn’t heard from him since. When she wakes up in 1994, she naturally assumes she’s dreaming. But when she finds herself in the past again the next night and her actions in the dream alter her present-day life, she begins to wonder if she’s somehow hopping back in time. And if she is time-travelling, can she save her friendship with Jonas?

When Maisie is forced to relive Christmases of the past, will she face up to her mistakes, or make them all over again?

The 12 Christmases of You & Me is a magical tale of friendship, first loves, and learning to live in the present.

Read Now

From heartwarming Valentine's Day romance, Halloween fun and winter meet-cutes, the bite-sized stories from rom com author Jennifer Joyce will fill you with joy.

The ten short stories include:

The Unvalentine

Thinking About You

Lost & Found

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Stuck With You

The Perfect Winter Weekend

Road Trip

The Snowman

Winter One-derland

Meet Me on the Bridge

Read Now

If you do read any of my books, I hope you enjoy them. And if you do, don't forget to leave a quick review on Amazon to let others know. Every one really does help!

A Catch Up

 Spring has finally sprung! Winter seemed to go on forever but the sun is finally shining and there's bits of colour appearing in the garden. A lot has happened during my last catch up, including:

My 40th birthday

Multiple edits of my summer 2023 book

The Little Bed & Breakfast by the Sea reached 1,000 ratings on Amazon - and then 2,000!
(I remember being over-the-flipping-moon with 50)

The RSPB's Big Garden Watch
(I spotted 4 great tits, 4 blue tits, 4 magpies, 3 pigeons, 2 robins and 3 squirrels)

The first instalment of my three-part quick read, 9 Summers going out to my newsletter subscribers

The start of my new crochet project: a books read blanket

So many visits to Costa

So what else has been happening over the past few weeks:

With my latest edits for my summer 2023 release back with my editor, I'm working on Book 17, which I started before Christmas but had to put aside. It's another rom com, this time with a dual POV, set in Clifton-on-Sea (which you'll recognise from some of my other books) and a very busy community centre.

I'm currently reading Never Greener by Ruth Jones.

Other books I've read recently are:

The Catch by T.M. Logan

The Glass House by Eve Chase

Teenage Kicks by Jax Ward

Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allan

Like most people, we were totally hooked on Happy Valley a few weeks ago, and we also finally caught up with The Traitors (yes, we were very behind, but it was SO GOOD and we can't wait for more).

I've also recently really enjoyed Funny Woman on Sky Max and Life Begins on ITVX (which is a massive throwback but I enjoyed it just as much this time round as originally).

Last week, we went to see the new Super Mario Bros. Movie at the cinema and it was brilliant, especially Bowser (who is evil and everything but also the CUTEST). Continuing on the video game theme, I watched Tetris on Apple TV last night and loved it!

Books, writing. the beginnings of spring in the garden, all those Costa visits and Miss Luna.

You can find me on Instagram here

So that's what I've been getting up to these last few weeks. How about you? Let us know in the comments below :)