Well here’s something a little different – and most entertaining. I’ve been tagged in a blog hop that was originally started by Susie Orman Schnall, author of On Grace (US Link, UK Link). It’s the 40th Birthday Swag Bag Blog Hop, and the premise is that the blogger is going to a friend’s 40th birthday bash at an exotic island resort.

The challenge is to list a few of your favourite things that you’d like to add to the swag bag for everyone in the group. You can read the original post HERE. I was tagged by Debbie Young, who is also an author and a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, of which I am a member. Inevitably, in this blog hop challenge started and continued by writers, one of the items is a book! Read on to see what I’ve chosen…

Book
It’s always interesting recommending books to other people – you have to consider their interests and personal tastes. I’m a great lover of mysteries (as is Debbie Young), and I can’t go past the highly entertaining Agatha Raisin series penned by the legendary M.C. Beaton (the pen name of the prolific writer Marion Chesney, who is also behind the wildly popular Hamish Macbeth). I recently read #24 in the series, which follows retired PR guru Agatha Raisin, who has settled in the Cotswolds, which in fictional terms must be second only to the county of Midsomer (of Midsomer Murders fame) in terms of body count!
The book’s summary reads:
Incomer Gloria French is at first welcomed in
the Cotswold village of Piddlebury. She seems like a do-gooder par excellence, raising funds for the church and caring for the elderly. But she has a
 bad habit of borrowing things and not giving them back, so when she is discovered dead, poisoned by a bottle of elderberry wine, folk in the village don’t mourn her passing too intently. Parish councillor Jerry Tarrant hires Agatha Raisin to track down the murderer. But the village is creepy and secretive and the residents don’t seem to want Agatha to find who the murderer is, and Agatha’s investigations are hampered by the emotional upset of finding her ex, James Lacey, has fallen in love with young detective Toni Gilmour. And now the murderer is targeting Agatha!
I fell in love with the series right from book #1, Agatha Raisin and The Quiche of Death (how could you not read a book with a title like that?). They’re short, highly entertaining reads that are perfect for lazing around the pool.

Beauty product
I have a couple of favourite beauty products, and perhaps unsurprisingly, being a writer, they’re all hand creams! I always travel with a tube of L’Occitane Shea Butter hand cream, a rich French moisturizing balm that keeps your hands looking their best.

Snack food
I can’t resist a good bar of chocolate, and I always keep a block of Green & Black’s Organic Milk Chocolate handy for when writer’s block strikes. Who doesn’t love a good hit of endorphins?

Music Album
Hmmmmm, it’s always touchy recommending music, but in the spirit of a 40th swag bag, I think Jamiroquai’s Travelling Without Moving album is a must. Funky, toe-tapping acid jazz to accompany an afternoon of cocktails with the girls!

My choice of any extra treat
An extra treat…well, I never leave home without a giant tin of Milo, a very Australian drink, able to be served hot or cold. I prefer mine hot with a dash of milk, and served with a side of (Scottish) McVitie’s Milk Chocolate Digestives biscuits. Yum!

A big thank you to Debbie Young for extending me the invitation to take part in this blog hop – you can read her swag bag suggestions here!

Want to get involved? Like to be tagged in this blog post? Comment below and you can carry the swag bag forward!