Zara Stoneley
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Meet the Men! Billy 'the bonk' Brinkley

8/8/2014

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'Tiggy, realising she’d been summarily dismissed, watched as he sprung lightly into the saddle. He was all man, was Billy. She didn’t care what people said about him, or what they used to say. He had a heart of gold and was so demanding and authoritative it made her go weak at the knees. Literally.'

PictureCourtesy Showjumpingnostalgia
I hope you enjoyed the first peeks into Stable Mates, with the introduction to tranquil Tippermere, and upmarket Kitterly Heath. And now it’s time to move on to the bit you’ve been waiting for, the men!


I grew up with an obsession for anything equine: horse, ponies, books, pictures. If there was anything on the TV with the remotest hint of ‘horse’ I was there. The most tenuous link, the merest whiff of eau de pony - and of course the riders (predominantly fit men) had a certain appeal….

Back then show jumping was big in this country, and often televised, and so one of my earliest crushes was a sporting idol to many, the former British show jumping champion Harvey Smith.

Harvey was one of a kind, a blunt Yorkshireman with a broad accent who had a special knack with horses. He was controversial, he was different. And he had a style all of his own. (That's him in the photo, tackling the famous bank at Hickstead.)

When I was looking for a father for Lottie, the idea of a down to earth, blunt character who is soft in the centre was exactly what I pictured - and Harvey was my starting point.
So, my own dear Billy Brinkley is more of a Mr Smith than a Rupert Campbell Black (a great character in Jilly Cooper novels). He’s unique, initially inspired by Harvey, but layered with bits of the many of the other show jumpers I grew up admiring (and ogling), and some of the riders I know now. And his reputation, and all the naughty bits, and all the sad bits, are entirely of my own making!

Billy is blunt and determined, a bit of a showman, and totally devoted to his daughter and his work (although he tries not to show it). He’s loveable and fun, and he should have grown out of behaving badly – but some people never do. And, he might be broadening around the girth, and his curly hair not as thick as it was, but the ladies still love him.

After losing one love, Billy is only out to have fun – or is one particular admirer of his right, does the man need a new grand passion in his life…?

And as for that Billy ‘the bonk’ label, well here’s a couple of snippets that gives you a hint of why, but the full story is in ‘Stable Mates’.

Coming soon… the men you've been waiting for...Rory, Mick, Dom and Todd.
Enjoy the ride!
Zara x

Lottie knew with the ‘just like your mother comment’ exactly where this conversation was going and did her best to head it off with the skill of someone who’d had to do it many times before. Her mother, Alexandra, had been destined to marry someone befitting her breeding, until she fell for Billy Brinkley. A sportsman who was as competent in the sack as saddle, if the headlines and stable tittle-tattle was to be believed.

...And then there had, of course, been a rival rag which had tried to go one better with a ‘Bonko Billy’ cartoon which involved a medal round his neck and Stetson on his head as he straddled what Tiggy had termed (none too fondly) a ‘big boobed babe’.

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Kitterly Heath

31/7/2014

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PicturePhoto from Knutsford Guardian (linked)
Ferraris and Jags, footballer and WAG’s, sex and scandal... leave the wellies behind in Tippermere and travel the short distance to Kitterly Heath. Where the price tags can be eye watering, but satisfaction is guaranteed…


'There were three broad categories of residents in the village. The types who had lived here for generations, and inhabited the grand, but slightly dilapidated mansions just up the hill. Then there were those that had made their money in the city, following perfectly respectable (to some) careers that usually involved money. And then there were the others. The ones that ensured recession didn’t exist in this cosy corner of Cheshire. The ones that had made it here on the back of a skill set that could cause tutting and censure. The pop stars, the footballers – after all two major rival teams were based within a short Ferrari drive away - and the actors who hankered after a country estate address to add to their Hollywood and city portfolio.'

I hope you enjoyed the first peek into Stable Mates, with the introduction to tranquil Tippermere (Welcome to Tippermere), now it’s time to move on to upmarket Kitterly Heath!

For a taste of Kitterly Heath, all you need to do is check out the Cheshire home of premiership footballers and stars - Alderley Edge. Kitterly isn’t Alderley Edge, but the village did inspire me to create a perfect British village of my own. A place that David Simcock, goalkeeper for his country, and his gorgeous partner Sam (and of course the Jacuzzi loving mutt, Scruffy), could settle in.

Pip loves the place, it’s full of the names and gossip she survives on in her journalistic life, and provides a welcome escape from the horse talk that sometimes leaves her longing for London and Louboutins.

If you’re a bit of a foodie, Alderley Edge can make your mouth water. There’s a wonderful butchers, a bakery that supplies hot sausage rolls and pies that are amazing (there is no other word and yes, that’s where Pip got her ammunition to upset the estate agent), an old fashioned sweet shop, and then there are the wine bars, restaurants and café’s that line the single street. Where I’ve spotted more than one footballer, and manager, on a sunny afternoon watching the world go by.

And if it’s money on a grander scale that you want to spend, the shoe shops and boutiques confirm that small can be beautiful (if you haven’t got money to burn, even the charity shop  hit the headlines when people realised it gets more than its fair share of designer cast offs!).

On the outskirts is the property that David Beckham allegedly had his heart set on, and a stone’s throw away is ‘The Edge’ where the heart-stoppingly hunky Irish farrier Mick finally got to grips with the girl he had his eye on (read the book to find out who it was – it may surprise you). I sought out the spot many years ago after reading a book called ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ by Alan Garner – but more about that another time.

It’s a beautiful village, with a lovely church and is surrounded by the type of picturesque countryside (and mansions) that make the UK the wonderful place it is  - throw in a smattering of Knutsford, Kelsall and Hale and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Kitterly Heath is like. And, of course, don’t forget those footballers…

Welcome to the world of Stable Mates - I'll be sharing more about the setting and the characters in the next few weeks. Enjoy the ride! 
Zara x

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Welcome to Tippermere...

23/7/2014

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Where can you dance across a cobbled stable yard, in high heels and a silk dress, at midnight... risk life and limb galloping across fields and jumping hedges.. be seduced in a hayloft... hit the headlines as a premiership footballer and ex-model fight over you... share a jacuzzi filled with friends and champagne... uncover secrets that the scandals have hidden...?
Discover tranquil Tippermere, where things aren't always what they seem.

“Isn’t it beer time yet?”

Lottie glanced at her watch. She’d already had G&T time with her gran, whose idea of a weak drink was a double gin with a waft of tonic, and was feeling slightly off centre. Carrying on drinking, mid-afternoon with no food in her was probably a bad idea.

“Well…” There was a sudden outbreak of  ‘Your Sex is on Fire’ from somewhere in the region of Lottie’s knickers, and Mick gave her a smouldering look that nearly ignited other parts of her, or that could just have been because part of her brain had taken off on a fantasy she couldn’t control. 
Tippermere exists in my imagination, as do Lottie, Rory, Mick and all the other characters in Stable Mates. But I wanted to share a little bit of their world with you, show you where it all started... And where better to begin than a Cheshire pub?

My favourite pubs in the area are the real British country pubs - the type that have open fires, real ale and oak beams with hops hanging from them. My very favourite ones are in Mobberley in Cheshire, and are where I pictured the gang, mud-spattered and heady from a day hunting, or debating the future of the village following the death of Marcus James. The photo above was taken in The Bulls Head, but it's a combination of this pub, plus The Church Inn that was in my head as I wrote.

Welcome to Tippermere - I'll be sharing more about the setting and the characters in the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy the ride! 
Zara x


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    Lover of sexy high heels, good food, good wine, music, coffee, sunshine and hot romance!

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