My books have become known for their foodie vibes, with The Supper Club series bringing this to the fore. I’ve even been called ‘The Queen of Foodie fiction’. If there’s comfort food, then perhaps my novels are a ‘comfort’ read. Stories to settle down, relax and escape with for a while. There’s still real life sandwiched in there too, the many ups and downs we have to cope with, but ultimately, they are stories to warm your soul.

Food can bring people together in such a wonderful way. Family and friends, sitting chatting around a table with something tasty to eat before them... encapsulating ‘the spirit of food and love and family’ as said by Dave Myers of the Hairy Bikers.

The quote I chose for the The Second Chance Supper Club is by chef Emeril Lagasse: ‘Cooking with love provides food for the soul.’ The preparation and cooking is part of the process; it’s a way of giving, of kindness, of showing you care. Nourishing you, too, in fact.

Over time, I’ve learned that easy recipes - prepared with a glass of wine to hand - are the way to go when cooking for others. There’s no need to make it too complicated. Prepare in advance, and find some good all-in-one pot recipes, oven tray-bake style food, or something slow-cooked and delicious you can make ahead. And why not make a pudding the day before – no-bake cheesecakes and zingy lemon possets are great for this.

And if you fancy trying something new, summery and easy, here’s a recipe from the back of The Second Chance Supper Club. It’s one of my family favourites, and a one-pot wonder:

Will’s Easy Chicken, Pepper, Feta and Olive Bake (Serves 4)

750g Charlotte or new potatoes, cut in half if large

600g boneless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-size chunks

2tsp smoked paprika

1 large onion, sliced into thin wedges

1 red pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2tbsp olive oil

200g pack feta cheese, crumbled into chunks

16 pitted black olives

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 200C (180C fan). Part-boil potatoes for 6 mins.

Toss chicken in the smoked paprika to coat. Place in an ovenproof dish. Add onion, red pepper and garlic. Drain the potatoes and add to the dish, season and toss together with the olive oil.

Cook for 15 mins, take out of the oven and toss again for a further 15 mins, until chicken is cooked through and golden. Add the olives and crumbled feta to the top and bake for 3-4 more mins. Remove from oven and sprinkle over the parsley.

Serve with a crisp green salad and fresh crusty bread.

Bon Appetit!

Happy reading and happy cooking.

Best wishes,

Caroline x

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2016 was a turning point. This was my second book, set in a castle in my beautiful home county of Northumberland, and the one that really kicked things off for my writing. It is still my best-selling novel to date. A real dream come true at the time, and a big life ambition achieved. Wonderfully, I now have a total of 13 published books, with another completed and ready to release late August 2026. So yep, it’s been busy.

Before all this, it took me another TEN YEARS to get there. My books were not exactly an overnight success. The journey being a huge learning curve from writing as a hobby, to trying to get published, with almost 80 submission rejections along the way - postal submissions, online submissions, to putting myself forward (rather nerve-wracking) for in-person interviews with agents and publishers at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conferences, and finally getting that call from two publishers on the very same day offering me a publishing deal! I chose HarperCollins, and I am still with them today, and now with HQ Stories. Perseverance, resilience, and learning were key.

Do you have a dream? A passion? Something you’d love to achieve? I’d say break it down into smaller steps, and GO FOR IT. Now I’ve reached mid-life, it’s like, hang on, I haven’t got time to waste, I’d better crack on with these things. Be brave, be bold, be open to opportunity. Have fun on the way. Be kind to yourself, too, especially when things might go a bit awry. And you know what, it may not quite work out as the initial ‘big dream’ you were aiming for, but perhaps a different - still exciting - version, and that’s okay too, you’ll learn so much and you’ll make friends along the way.

Good luck, and remember, go forward boldly.

All best wishes,

Caroline x

January is here with a very chilly start in Northumberland.

A new year gives me the chance to reflect, and to think about fresh starts. It’s the time to say: ‘What do you want from this year?’ And to consider any hopes, dreams, and plans. And, more importantly, to work out the best steps you might take to get there?

Some dreams can just seem too big, and yet they stay with you, year on year. I’d say take one step, one building brick towards that. If you want to write a novel, start by writing just one page. If you want to get fitter, join a class or a club, and make sure you get to the first session. Remember, sometimes the journey is just as important as the goal. The friends you make on the way, the lessons learned, the things you tried but didn’t work out. Life’s not perfect. We are not perfect, and that’s okay, we are human, after all.

Maybe your goal is a smaller one. Perhaps to give yourself some me-time in the busyness that is everyday life. Taking the time to sit with a coffee and read a book, for example. Why does it always have to be about pushing ourselves? Is this perhaps the year to say ‘Enough! As well as the must dos, I’ll have a To Do list of life’s small pleasures instead’. How wonderful would that be.

I’m as guilty as anyone of driving myself hard, with book and editing deadlines to meet; with the first draft of Supper Club 3 - a Seaside Supper Club - due to my editor early Feb, and marketing to plan. And it’s all the real me, by the way - this newsletter, my author social media posts. It’s me fitting it in around life, my family, writing, walking two lively spaniels. I do love chatting with you, and reading all your lovely comments on my socials, so if I don’t answer straight away, please be patient and be reassured that it’s not AI or a PR person on my behalf, because when I reply it’s me speaking to you.

Thinking of goals, over ten years ago, I achieved my dream of getting my first book ‘The Torn Up Marriage’ published, closely followed by the success of ‘The Cosy Teashop in the Castle’. It took over ten years of writing, submitting, re-writing, going to writing conferences, and building the nerve to put myself out there to make that dream come true. Often success only comes after a lot of perseverance and rejection. So, if life’s a bit tough just now, or if your dreams seem a million miles away, hang on in there. Things can and will improve.

Sending all best wishes for a wonderful 2026!

Keep dreaming, keep reading. Take care.

Love,

Caroline x

I get up at 6:30am. This has become my writing power hour, and usually I have no social media on, no interruptions, and my household is quiet. Today is another early start, but instead of writing, I’m finalising my launch day posts for Facebook, Instagram and X, ready to put them live for breakfast time here in the UK.

Annoyingly, I’ve woken up with a humdinger of a headache – no doubt spurred on by a bit of natural anxiety around bringing your book into the world after all the hours spent dreaming it up, writing it, polishing and revising it with an editor, cover designs, marketing campaigns and more. I’ve also been full on writing the next book, (a third Supper Club story, Woo Hoo!) which all involves a lot of computer work. It’s cup of tea and paracetamol time!

The posts go live! I grab some breakfast myself, and then get back to my desk for an hour or so of chatting with my followers, reading the wonderful congratulatory comments, and generally trying to spread the love for my new book. I can’t help myself taking a peak at Amazon, too, to see if a) there are any reviews as yet, and b) where the book is in the Rankings charts – this particular act can be torturous for authors, and is not wise, yet I bet every author does it on launch day at some point. Three 5 star reviews sit there, yay, and I’m a happy bunny... and of course, Ranking-wise it’s way too soon to be flying high in the charts for me.

A dog walk along with my hubbie in the countryside helps clear my head, and reminds me why I wrote this book in the first place. My love of Northumberland and my rural village life is key to the Supper Club books’ themes and setting. They are also about the second chances that life can give you when those dastardly curveballs come in.

Back for coffee, and it’s upstairs to my laptop again, answering messages, reading e-mails, making a thank you video to post this afternoon, and working on a blog post too. Quick bite of lunch. Gorgeous publication day flowers arrive from my team at HQ Digital, how lovely. More messages, and thanks. It’s not just my hard work and time that gets a book launched but all credit to the team around me: HQ my publisher, bookshops, libraries, book bloggers, readers, the support from my family; there’s a whole host of people to thank.

It’s late afternoon, and I’m ready to take a break. A dog walk on the coast is a joy. And I don’t always make time to do this, but this time I realise that I should, so today I’ve booked a meal out as a treat. As a writer you put in so much work, and you can feel your book is never quite good enough (so many authors have imposter syndrome!), and sometimes you’re so busy doing all the social media launch stuff that you don’t actually pause to celebrate your achievement and your success.

I haven’t just written and had one book published - though that would be bloody amazing in itself - this is Book 13! And that number feels so lucky for me. A cocktail or two later, and a gorgeous meal out at The Black Swan Inn, Seahouses – one of my favourite local restaurants. And yes, CHEERS, I DID IT!

Thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoyed sharing a little of my launch day.

If you dream of writing a book, or have a story to tell, keep going, keep striving. You can do it. You never know where it, and you, might end up. Having a launch day perhaps …

Best wishes,

Caroline x

Hope you are all keeping well, and settling into the Autumn season here in the UK. Time for cosy comfort food and country woodland walks, with the leafy greens now fading to the gold, bronze, and red colours of late September.

It’s only a month to go until my next book ‘Christmas at The Second Chance Supper Club’ is released - woo hoo!

This book follows on the heartwarming story of Cath and Will and the supper club gang, with lots of cosy winter suppers and a big festive bash to get organised in time for Christmas. I loved writing this story, seeing how all the friends’ lives move on, and discovering more about Reggie, Cheviot Cottage’s previous owner, and getting to know the characterful elderly residents in his care home.

This element of the storyline is particularly close to my heart as I used my dad’s post-war National Service experiences, and his romance with my mum, as inspiration for Reggie and Elsie’s story and lost letters. After only having known her for three weeks my dad had to go abroad, firstly to Egypt and then Cyprus, and he did indeed write a letter to my mum every day that he was away for over eighteen months. They got engaged soon after his return, and their marriage has lasted for sixty-nine years, with four children, eight grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and this year a great-great-grandson. Five generations, wow.

My parents are still are an inspiration, caring and supporting each other, and still living in their own home in Cornwall. The book is dedicated to my mum and dad. It’s always special to weave real-life experiences and memories into my writing.

We had a big family weekend celebration in North Devon this summer, an ‘almost’ 70 years anniversary party. It was such a joyful event. And yes, as you can see in the photo, rather a lot of wine was consumed, as well as some wonderful food.

So, I’m very much looking forward to sharing this book with you. I’m delighted with the cover. It’s festive and fabulous. The design team at HQ have done brilliantly. Many thanks to them.

Christmas at the Second Chance Supper Club is released on 23^rd October in paperback, e-book and audio versions. And you can find out more and pre-order here: amzn.to/4mHpmRq

Thanks for reading my newsletter!

All best wishes,

Caroline x

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter!

My new book ‘The Second Chance Supper Club’ is now out in the world, and I really appreciate all the support so far from my fantastic readers.

I’ve just come back from a wonderful celebration weekend down in Devon for my parents’ ‘almost’ 70^th Wedding Anniversary, where five generations of my family gathered, with ages from 8 months to 90 years. A fantastic big bash with great food, plenty of wine, lots of chat and laughter, dancing in the kitchen, the kids high on fruit shoots, and catching up with relatives I haven’t seen in an age.

Family, friendship, fizz, good food and lots of love – sounds like one of my books! Seeing my Mum and Dad support each other through the many ups and downs of life over the years, has been key to my inspiration, and I want to show the hope and joy that that kind of love brings. My stories are about love and commitment, and standing strong together with family and friends when the going gets tough.

The stories are also often about friendships formed over food, and I thought you might like to have the first recipe that appears in the back of The Second Chance Super Club, my (and Cath’s!) Prawn, Lemon and Spring Onion Tagliatelle - ideal for these warm summer evenings and super easy to cook! Enjoy!

Cath’s King Prawn and Lemon Tagliatelle (Serves 4)

40g butter

6 spring onions, chopped

1 heaped tbsp plain flour

300ml milk

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon rind, finely grated

250g tagliatelle (dried)

250g cooked king prawns

140ml double cream

Grated parmesan, and 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley – to garnish

Melt the butter in a deep frying pan, and gently fry the spring onions until tender. Stir in the flour, and cook for one minute. Gradually stir in the milk to form a smooth, thick sauce. Season to taste, and add the lemon juice and rind. Set aside.

Cook the tagliatelle as per the instructions, and drain.

Put the sauce back on to a medium heat and stir in the prawns and cream to heat through, then mix with the cooked tagliatelle. Serve garnished with grated parmesan and a sprinkling of parsley.

A portion of olive bread (or any freshly baked bread) would be wonderful served with this along with a crisp green salad! Bon appétit!

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Hello, I’m Caroline Roberts, author of contemporary fiction, and new to Substack. I’m hoping to create a monthly newsletter and make some lovely connections here.

I live in a rural village in the beautiful county of Northumberland, England. I love walking my two spaniels, Gino and Jarvis, in the moorland countryside and on the golden-sandy beaches. Bamburgh being one of my favourites, with its imposing castle. I really enjoy cooking and getting together with family and friends. You’ll often find me in the kitchen or garden, with a glass of fizz or wine to hand!

After writing for most of my life in one way or another, over fifteen years ago, I dared to reach for my dreams of getting published as a novelist. It took many years of hard work, with lots of submissions, rejections and disappointment, but also making friends on the way and learning so much on my writing journey. And, here I am about to publish my 12th novel The Second Chance Supper Club, with HarperCollins! A heartwarming story about new beginnings, friendship, community, love and hope, set in beautiful Northumberland. It’s still quite nerve-wracking, as well as exciting, when your book goes out into the world.

I love reading, my latest being Sara Cox’s ‘Way Back’ - such a warm, uplifting and emotional story, and Chloe Dalton’s ‘Raising Hare’ - a wonderful and rather magical wildlife memoir. I love seeing the hares nestled quietly or racing about the fields near to our home.

I’ve been married for over 35 years - not sure which of us deserves the medal! We have two grown up children and two gorgeous young grandchildren. Life is very busy with family, writing, dogs, and lots of gardening to keep up with. I feel very thankful.

I’m looking forward to posting monthly newsletters for you, to include my writing inspirations, Northumberland life with images from my walks along the beautiful coast and countryside, some recipes and foodie fun, tips on writing, with excerpts or pre-views from my novels and works in progress.

Thanks, and chat again soon.

Caroline x

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