Hi everyone, it’s time for another Friday Reads post and today I’m featuring the heartwarming romance, Escape to Polkerran Point by Cass Grafton. So grab a cuppa, get cosy and let’s get chatting to Cass. 😊
Can fake dating turn into something more with a baby on the way?
High-flying exec Lauren Kirkham is having a bad week. Unexpectedly pregnant, out of work and – when dumped by her boyfriend – with nowhere to live. She needs a respite, and so goes to visit her friend Anna Redding in Polkerran for a short stay.
Polkerran’s local handyman Daniel Tremayne is busy building his own ‘grand design’ on one of the cove’s cliffs. With the TV crew due to turn up to film, expecting a happy couple, he urgently needs a fake live-in girlfriend since he’s also split with his ex.
Can Lauren and Daniel solve their mutual dilemmas by joining forces, and if so, will their hearts emerge unscathed?
A heartwarming and fun Cornish romance, perfect for fans of Cressida McLaughlin, Jessica Redland and Phillipa Ashley.
Praise for Escape to Polkerran Point
‘A beautiful read set in Cornwall. Lovely and feel-good read with a great ending’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
‘I love a sweet cozy romance and this book has all the perfect ingredients. I love how it has a fake dating trope… the gorgeous scenery and descriptions don’t hurt either’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review
It sounds fun doesn’t it? If you fancy reading it you can download a copy here:
Buy link – one link for Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Google Play, Waterstones, Bookshop.org, Hive
Welcome back to my blog, Cass. This is the second book in your Little Cornish Cove series so can you tell us about writing a book when supporting sharacters take the lead?
I’ve been lucky enough, this last year or so, to be writing a feel-good romance series set in Cornwall, a place very close to my heart. I’ve never lived in the county but do know the setting of my fictitious coastal village of Polkerran Point extremely well.
Polkerran hosts a small community, a combination of long-standing locals and ‘incomers’, who rub along together quite well most of the time. Sometimes, these ‘background’ characters seem to have more story to tell than they’ve been allowed, and that’s what happened as I completed the first book in the series.
New Dreams at Polkerran Point featured two individuals (one local and one living miles away) who stepped forward to take the lead in the recently published second book, Escape to Polkerran Point.
Let me introduce you to Yorkshire lass, Lauren Kirkham. When readers originally meet her (in the first book), she is a support act, side-kick and best friend to Anna Redding. Her appearances are sporadic and often via phone messages or video chats.
Daniel Tremayne was once a successful and driven London financier. He retreated to Polkerran Point (where he grew up) when his stressful career and a toxic relationship pushed him to the edge. Now, he’s the local DIY man, known for being cheerful and upbeat, who also proved himself a good friend to Anna throughout the first book in the series.
When we meet these characters in Escape to Polkerran Point, their lives have shifted somewhat.
Lauren—by nature, a party girl, focused on her high-flying role with a multinational based in Leeds—has been a serial dater. The minute there was a whiff of ‘going steady’, she was off—until she met Kit. Seeing a kindred spirit—another high-flyer with big career ambitions—she finally committed to a relationship and moved in with him.
Enter a rather conspicuous curveball, in the shape of an unexpected pregnancy and company restructure. Kit is off like a 100m sprinter chasing a gold medal, and Lauren must pick up the pieces of her life and start afresh.
Daniel, meanwhile, has entangled himself in yet another soul-destroying relationship, and—head firmly entrenched in the sand of one of Polkerran’s small beaches—is ignoring the signs and channelling all his efforts into his personal ‘grand design’ on the cliff top overlooking the sea.
I so enjoyed fleshing out Lauren and Daniel’s characters and watching them evolve throughout the story, but I’ll admit to being nervous about how they would be received by readers, especially those so invested in Anna’s story. Luckily, early feedback has been brilliant, with people loving Lauren and her honesty and commitment to the challenges of the transition from career and party girl to expectant mum, running her own consultancy from home. As for Daniel, he’s frequently referred to by reviewers along the lines of ‘a grade A book boyfriend’, ‘swoonworthy and loveable’ and ‘an absolute gentleman’, so I think they both made their mark in leading roles!
Now all I hope for is that I’ve managed to do the same for my next main male lead—who has a cameo in Escape to Polkerran Point—when he becomes the sparring partner to new arrival, Gemma, in my upcoming summer release, Christmas at Polkerran Point.
Your book sounds fab, Cass, as does your next one. I hope they both fly!
Meet Cass
Cass began her writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen’s help to time-travel between then and the present day and is now happily ensconced in 21st century Cornwall.
Well, in her imagination and soul; her heart and physical presence reside in northern England with her ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, their cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.
A bit of a nomad, Cass has called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but her aspiration is to one day reunite with her beloved West Country.
In the meantime, she writes feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manages to live there vicariously through her characters and settings.
Contact links
Blog – https://cassandragrafton.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cassgraftonwriter/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CassGraftonWriter
X – https://twitter.com/CassGrafton
Newsletter Sign Up – https://www.subscribepage.com/cassgraftonnewsletter
Karen King: Author 
Thank you so much for the chat on your blog, Karen! I really enjoyed it!