All Categories - Bella Osborne

Playlist - Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands

10/24/2024

I loved writing Mistletoe Magic in the Highlands. My Christmas books are full on festive romantic comedies and are always fun to write. They would make excellent Hallmark Christmas films (just my opinion obviously but just in case a film producer happens to be reading this :-)) Liv is a feisty heroine who gets herself into a number of scrapes but always keeps her sense of humour which means she has some great comedy liners. It's not just about the laughs it's also about showing how characters meet challenges and evolve so it was good to see her grow across the novel. The setting is the Scottish Highlands so it was a treat to be able to immerse myself in that wonderful location. The story is set in the run up to Christmas so there are obviously some festive tracks on this playlist but there are lots of others too so hopefully it’s well balanced. I was tempted to add in some bagpipe music but decided against it, I’m sure you can find some for yourselves if you really want to!
So here’s the list of songs:
Emotions by Mariah Carey
Mambo No5 by Lou Bega
Wild World by Maxi Priest
Let It Snow by Dean Martin
Fantasy by Mariah Carey
Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens
Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar
Blame It On Me by George Ezra
Say What You Want by Texas
Stick Season by Noah Kahan
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo & Patsy
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey

And the Spotify playlist is here. I hope you enjoy it. Wishing a very merry Christmas for us all!

Playlist for Finding Love At Sunset Shore

7/11/2024

I am really sad to leave behind the characters from Finding Love At Sunset Shore. It’s been nice to be able to go through the different songs that remind me of the key points and scenes in the story so that I can relive them. Finding Love At Sunset Shore originally had the working title of The Boyfriend Risk and I think I’ll always think of that title first. Ros is in risk management and it’s the perfect role for her – she’s analytical, uptight and a rule follower. Ros is a strong character and I loved discovering her story. She’s the sort of person who is seen as quirky and occasionally downright odd by others who don’t take the time to get to know her. Ros sees things very clearly and human emotions are not her strong suit but she’s the best risk manager out there. She has a just two people who she is close to who are her dad and her friend Darla.
This is a fake dating trope story which I know has been done many times before but Ros’s story is different. Well at least I’ve not read about anyone embarking on a fake relationship for anything other than something that in some way benefits them. Frequently it’s because they want to go to a big event but don’t want people to know they are single. But in my story Ros is only doing it to make someone else feel better.
Her dad has terminal cancer and she overhears him telling his brother that he’s worried about Ros and how she will be after he is gone. He knows and respects that she’s a strong independent woman but that doesn’t stop him having that paternal worry that Ros will be alone in a harsh world where she struggles to fit in. He would like to see her in a relationship with someone who will respect her independence but be there for her when she needs them and he feels she would benefit if only she’d let others get closer to her.
Ros briefly considers the option of seeking out a man to pretend to be her partner but instantly dismisses it as a totally bonkers idea but when her friend Darla thinks she has the perfect guy to stand in as her boyfriend Ros has a very hard decision to make which goes against her fiercely independent demeanour.
This story is jam packed with funny moments and I often laughed out loud when I was writing it which is unusual especially when you are editing it for the eighth time!
It’s hard to know how a book will be received but I so hope readers take Ros into their hearts and go on the voyage of discovery with her. Plus there is the gorgeous chilled-out Cameron to enjoy who is one of my favourites of the book boyfriends I’ve created.
I found choosing the songs quite easy this time as I think Ros has been with me for quite a long while and I can see the scenes play out with these tunes adding to the feeling and atmosphere. As usual there’s an eclectic mix but there are a few classics from my favourite era - the 80s. I so hope you enjoy Ros’s story and these songs.
Here’s what I’ve chosen to go with Finding Love At Sunset Shore:

Rosanna by Toto
Don’t Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders
Can’t Tame Her by Zara Larsson
As It Was by Harry Styles
Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran
Clair de lune by Debussy
Remember by Becky Hill
Secret Smile by Semisonic
All My Broken Pieces by James Bay
Whole Again by Atomic Kitten
Love Changes Everything by Climie Fisher
Stargazing by Myles Smith

Here’s a link to the Spotify playlist. I hope you enjoy it.

Playlist - The Perfect Christmas Village

10/27/2023

So here we are at book thirteen! It feels quite surreal that I have written and had published so many stories and I am incredibly grateful that you, my lovely readers, continue to read and enjoy them.
I had a lot of fun with The Perfect Christmas Village not least because I am a bit of a Christmas nut myself. So it was particularly fun to think about what would be on the playlist to accompany this one. I've only written one Christmas themed book previously (One Family Christmas) so it was a novelty for me and lovely to fully immerse myself in the festive season.
I'm pleased with my final line up which isn't a full on festive playlist but hopefully a nice mix of songs that fit with various scenes as the book progresses with some classic Christmas tunes in there too - well it is a Christmas box after all!

Here's what made the final cut:9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
Moonlight by Grace VanderWaal
Sunrise by Norah Jones
It Feels Like Christmas - From the Muppet Christmas Carol
Jessie by Joshua Kadison
The Show Must Go On by Queen
Winter Wonderland by Bing Crosby
Here Comes Santa Claus by Bob Dylan
I’m Still Standing by Elton John
Love Someone by Lukas Graham
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard
And here's a link to the playlist on Spotify.

Playlist - An Invitation To Seashell Bay

7/29/2023

It’s become a bit of a thing that I jot down songs as I write a novel. An Invitation To Seashell Bay is a rom com about friendship and the assumptions we often make about others on first meeting which are frequently proved wrong.
It’s quite nice to picture a scene and have a musical accompaniment as it sometimes helps me to get the feel and atmosphere right. Plus I like it when I hear a song and know it would work well with a particular part of the story. It also helps me to picture what it might be like as a film – an author can dream!

These are the songs I picked for An Invitation To Seashell Bay:

Somebody To Love by George Michael & Queen
Spaceman by Sam Ryder
Don’t Speak by No Doubt
Shivers by Ed Sheeran
U Sure Do by Strike
Let Her Go by Passenger
Anyone For You by George Ezra
Better Together by Jeremy Loops
Crazy What Love Can Do by David Guetta / Becky Hill / Ella Henderson
More Than Friends by James Hype and Kelli-Leigh

Here’s a link to the Spotify playlist. I hope you enjoy it.

Playlist - A Wedding At Sandy Cove

8/12/2022

This was a fun playlist to put together. A Wedding At Sandy Cove is about weddings and brides but it's also about friendships and how important they are. I'm really pleased with the songs on this list and can see them playing over key scenes in the story. Here's the list I put together:Mirrors by Justin Timberlake
Family Affair by Sly & The Family Stone
Follow Me by Uncle Kracker
Hot N Cold by Katy Perry
Good As Hell by Lizzo
Rather Be by Clean Bandit
You’re My Best Friend by Queen
Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Confetti by Little Mix
Perfect by Ed Sheeran
Fire For You by Cannons
Wake Me up by Avicii

The link to the playlist on Spotify is here.

Pinterest - A Wedding At Sandy Cove

7/24/2022

A Wedding At Sandy Cove has been published and I can't wait to hear what my readers think of Ella and Kit and the gang. I find Pinterest is a great place to accumulate ideas for stories as I'm writing them and this book was no exception. I squirrelled away various pictures of people who looked a bit like my characters - disclaimer - there may be photos of Tom Ellis with his top off!
If you follow the link below you can see some of the inspirations for my characters and story.
Pinterest Board Link - here

The Girls - Playlist

5/11/2022

It's become a bit of a tradition that I produce a playlist for each of my books. It's a fun thing to do and hopefully helps to bring the story to life. Here's the list of the songs I think go well with The Girls:Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O’Sullivan
Don’t Go Breaking my Heart by Elton John & Kiki Dee
Dancing Queen by Abba
In Demand by Texas
Get Up by James Brown
Sailing by Rod Stewart
She’s A Lady by Tom Jones
Tiny Dancer by Elton John
You Can’t Always Get What you Want by The Rolling Stones (mentioned in the book)
Does your mother know by Abba
Can’t Get By Without You by The Real Thing
Give Me Just A Little More Time by Chairmen of the Board
Murder on the Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Jailhouse Rock by Elvis
If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
All Right Now by Free

Link to Spotify playlist - here

Books In The Library

1/27/2022

The Library is character driven but it is also essentially a book about books. Throughout the story the love of reading is clear and it is demonstrated by the books the characters read. It was a lovely opportunity for me to shout about some of my favourite books and writers.
A couple of readers have said they would like to read the books and authors mentioned in the story so I thought I would put together a list and here it is:
Stephen King (Nothing specific)
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Staying At Daisy’s by Jill Mansell
Me before You by Jojo Moyes
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Polo by Jilly Cooper
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Never Go Back by Lee Child
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
I hope there are some books on here that you decide to read and even better if you borrow them from your local library. Happy reading!
The Library is out now in ebook, audio and paperback.

The Library - Playlist

12/30/2021

I like to create a playlist for each of my books and The Library was no exception although I think the choices are a little different. I often have pieces of music floating around my head as I work on certain parts of a story although most of the time I need silence to work. Some tunes just fit the moment or the character and I had lots of times where I heard a song and it made me think of these characters and this book. With the two very different generations I felt it was right to have a mix of music that reflected both the characters and the scenes. I loved putting this playlist together. I like to think that Tom and Maggie would approve of my choices.
Here’s the list I came up with and below is a link to the playlist on Spotify:
So Am I by Ava Max
Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds
Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars
Yesterday by The Beatles
One Call Away by Charlie Puth
My Girl by The Temptations
Trouble by Coldplay
The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel
My Generation by The Who
Getting Older Billie Eilish
Levitating by Dua Lipa
Friends by Marshmello Anne-Marie
Respect by Aretha Franklin
I Saved the World Today by Eurythmics
The Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks

Link - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uSOdCCwRUrPDTaMwAsvsj?si=101ed11ef67c4947

Enjoy!
The Library is out now in ebook (still only 99p) and audio. The paperback is out on 6th January 2022 and is available to pre-order here.

Pinterest page - The Library

12/9/2021

Pinterest is a very handy tool for writers. I like that I can search for all sorts of things at the idea and planning stages of creating a novel. The trick is not to end up down a rabbit hole and lose a few hours and that’s very easy to do - especially if you like pictures of kittens. But if you can stay focussed you can create a really useful mood board that’s starts to bring your ideas to life. I like to go back to my Pinterest board to add to it and to check things as the story builds.
There were quite a few animals in The Library so I had lots of fun looking for those on Pinterest – I’m very pleased I found a Jacobs ram exactly how I pictured Colin. The border collies were also quite distinctive so they took a bit of searching for.
I had a clear idea of what Tom and Maggie looked like in my mind which was good but it made it hard to find any actors that were similar to the characters I had created. A young Joe Absolom kind of works for Tom but Maggie is really quite unique. That said, I’m sure if she grew her hair Julie Walters would be perfect for the role! An author can dream.
I'm a very visual person so even adding to my Pinterest board can sometimes trigger scene ideas. If you're a writer I'd recommend you give it a try and if you're a reader you might like to see some of my inspirations.
Here’s a link to my Pinterest board for The Library
The Library is out now in ebook and audio. The paperback is out on 6th January 2022 and is available to pre-order here.