Bláithín O’Reilly Murphy is the author of Distinctive Weddings; Tying the Knot without the Rope Burns, The Meaning of Purple Tulips and soon to be published It Started with a Gift as well as the short stories Sealed with a Christmas Kiss and Sausage Rolls for Everyone. In addition to writing fiction, she also ghostwrites non-fiction works for discerning clients. Bláithín retired from her award-winning wedding planning career in 2017 to start a family and is mum to two beautiful angel daughters in heaven and one personality-filled little dude!

She loves to write festive-filled romances that keep the readers on their toes featuring female characters who haven’t yet realised their own strengths. Her latest story, ‘Sausage Rolls for Everyone’ is a festive-filled tale of accepting oneself and love in all its forms and can be found in the Christmas Collective’s second publication The Mistletoe Mixtape. Bláithín’s first short story ‘Sealed with a Christmas Kiss’ found in the Christmas Collective’s first publication More than Mistletoe is the enticing prequel to her festive novel ‘It Started with a Gift’ which was shortlisted for the Penguin Christmas Love Story Publication Competition in 2021. She is obsessed with Hallmark Christmas Movies and Korean Dramas which she says gives her writing an emotional edge!

Bláithín is never far from a toasted scone or glass of Prosecco and she tries her best not to kill her plants in her spare time. She lives near the Irish coast with her darling husband, adorable son, and four cute furbabies. Her great ambition for later life is to be the crazy cat lady living on the corner of your street that everyone secretly loves and to own a bookstore, where everyone gathers for readings, signings, and socialising; and hopefully buys a book or twenty. She can be found oversharing in her IG stories and trying to sound witty and relevant on Twitter as @WhatBlaDidNext

As with the heroine in her soon-to-be-released debut novel “A Dream of Lazy Sundays”, new chick-lit author, Sarah Shard’s world shattered when her father passed away suddenly in 2015, triggering a sequence of events which turned her world upside down. Amid the chaos, she found solace in the magic of the written word, thus beginning the start of an unexpected new chapter.

Away from her award-winning career in project management, Sarah now spends as much time as she can immersed in the fictitious villages she creates from the balcony of her home in Saddleworth, England.

Sarah is a lifelong fan of chick-lit and romantic comedies, and she hopes to bring moments of joy, frustration, laughter, surprise and love to her readers. She writes as she reads, creating the (almost) perfect book boyfriends she would love to fall in love with, but as in real life, love doesn’t come easy. Her stories take you on the ups and downs in the search for that happy ending every reader hopes for!

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.