My new book is called THE TEASHOP ON THE CORNER and I hope that the teashop in question conjures up one of those places which is like a bubble, a world away from real life with all its trials and pressures.

Here’s a list of my top five comforting places to be, outside of my own home – places to go where I truly feel relaxed.

1 – My first choice has to a ship.  I’m a great cruiser and escape from ‘real life’ is easy when you’re adrift on the sea.  It’s the only place where I don’t give a toss what time it is and what day it is or what’s on the news because it doesn’t matter.   On a ship I let myself have the freedom to bend the rules.  If it’s eleven am and I feel like a glass of ice wine… I’ll have one.  If I want to nod off in the afternoon stretched out in the sun, I can do.  Plus calories do not exist on the sea.  I am oblivious to all the horrid news back home because the boundaries of my world extend to the walls of the ship and no further for two glorious weeks.  There is no better battery charger for me than a cruise.

2 – I LOVE teashops.  If I wasn’t a novelist, I would have been the owner of the sweetest, quaintest old-fashioned tea-shop imaginable.  And I still might buy one.  There is a lovely little teashop in a village up the road – The Potting Shed in Silkstone, which turns up as the Maltstone Garden Centre café in my books.  I love sitting at the window and watching the ducks and geese swimming up the stream which the café overlooks.  Cake, I find, is very good for relaxing.  It should be on prescription.

3 – One of my favourite places to chill is in Venice – especially at night when all the crowds have gone.  Last year we discovered a restaurant next to the theatre which sells the most gorgeous lobster and pasta and is a fabulous place for sitting and people-watching.   There is something about dining al fresco on a balmy evening that is divine.

4 – One of my favourite pastimes is reading (surprise surprise).  I love to absorb myself in a book and drift off to another place.  I do love the sea, but I find sitting on a beach a tad boring, but a good book changes that.  Lassi beach in Cefalonia was made for me.  There I can dip in the most gorgeous sea, get in a few rays and then pull the parasol over and jump into a good book (I like gritty crime novels, in case you’re asking).  Reading on a beach, picking at a Greek salad, sipping on a Pina Colada… makes me want to shout out ‘This is the Life.’

5 – Not far behind my love of books is my love of films.  I just like stories.  Every week my other half and myself tootle off to Cineworld in Sheffield and if we’re lucky will catch a 3D blockbuster on the Imax.  Losing myself in a good story – whether I’m reading it or watching it – is a joy for me.  When people write to me and say that one of my books has taken them away to another gentler place, I know what they mean because that’s exactly what a good story does for me too.  One day I’ll have my own cinema with huge puffy seats and a popcorn machine.  The word ‘comfort’ won’t even cover it!

Milly Johnson has written a Venice-set story for Sunlounger 2 entitled You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.

Ah cellulite; that orange peel, dimple-ridden skin that makes us look like we’ve been lying on a pebbled beach before we’ve even pulled down our trousers. Contrary to how you might feel, cellulite is not a curse. It has nothing to do with your weight or what you eat, it is simply caused by the loosening of muscle so by completing the following series of moves aimed at toning and firming targeted muscle groups, you’ll soon be strutting around like J-Lo or even Kylie!

(Of course we want the rest of your body looking beach-fabulous too so we’re also covering  stomach and arms too! )

Tip 1: To get the full benefits of the below moves, do them until you start to feel the burn in your muscles. Don’t push yourself to the point where you can’t sit down on the toilet without wincing. Little and often is better.

Tip 2: Throughout the exercises, engage your core. This means suck in your stomach a la ‘George Clooney is heading this way and I need to look tall and skinny’. This will support your back and ensure you don’t pull anything you are not supposed to…except George Clooney should he really happen to walk by.

Tip 3: For best results, do these 7 moves in 7 minutes for *7 weeks!

Music = anything with a good beat around the pace of Olly Murs’ Dance With Me Tonight.

Bum work (3 minutes):

Move 1:

• Position yourself on all fours, with your elbows to the floor for stability and straighten the leg to be worked.
• Raise the leg no higher than hip height for counts of two and then lower for counts of two.
• Repeat for a total of 8.

Move 2:

• Keep the straight leg out at hip height and bend the knee in and out again for single counts.
• Repeat for 16.

Move 3:

• Keep the knee bent with the sole of the foot flat to the ceiling.
• Raise and lower the leg (back to hip height) for single counts.
• Repeat for 16
• Now pulse the leg for 8.

Repeat moves 1,2 and 3 on the opposite leg.

As the weeks go on, you will be able to repeat the sequence on the same leg for up to a maximum of three times.

Side leg and inside thigh (2 minutes):

Move 4 (side leg):

• Lie on your side with your bottom leg bent for stability. You can lie flat or prop yourself up on your elbow.
• Raise your straight top leg up for counts of two and down for counts of two.
• Repeat for 8.
• Hold the leg and pulse it for 16.

Move 5 (inside thigh):

• Straighten both legs. Now bend the top leg you have just been working and put the foot flat on the floor, behind the knee of the bottom leg.
• Raise the bottom leg up for counts of two and down for counts of two.
• Repeat for 8.
• Hold the leg and pulse it for 16.

Now turn over onto the other side and repeat moves 4 and 5 on the other leg.

Although not technically designed for banishing cellulite, the following two moves will target arms and stomach – firming up the muscles so that when you have that cocktail in hand, you only have to think about raising it to your lips without worrying about how you look while doing just that. The press ups will also help your breasts become a little more pert, if they are not fabulously pert already!

Arms (1 minute)

Move 6:

• Position yourself onto all fours once more.
• Keep your hands shoulder-width apart with your fingers at a slight angle facing inwards.
• Take your weight slightly forward, so that your arms are doing all the work .
• Lower your nose to the floor for counts of two and raise for two.
• Repeat for 8.
• Lower and raise for single counts of 8 for extra pertness.

As the weeks go on, you will be able to repeat the sequence for up to a maximum of three times.

Stomach (1 minute)

Move 7:

• Prop yourself onto your forearms and lie flat on the floor, with your toes turned under ready to go.
• Tense your stomach and engage your core to lift you around two inches off the ground, ensuring that your back is flat a la a plank, and hold until you start to quiver.
• After you start quivering, hold for a further 10 seconds.

A variation on the above is to allow your knees to touch the floor for extra support. You will still be working your core and you will still quiver if held for long enough.

So there we are you beautiful ladies, there is how to tone up your fabulous bodies in around *seven weeks, at seven minutes a time. Remember to keep hydrated and eat a balanced diet to aid your bikini-body MOT, which can incorporate wine and chocolate in moderation…happy sunlounging!

LAUREY BUCKLAND has written 2 stories for SUNLOUNGER – one set amid ancient temples in Cambodia, the other in Bruges.

The best part of being on holiday is pretending you have a whole other life – one that includes balmy days on the beach, tall cocktails at night and blissful romance under the stars. And that’s just your average Thursday. If you really want a holiday romance worthy of a million-selling page-turner, here are my top five tips to keep it silly, saucy and (hopefully) stress-free when you get back to Blighty.

1)     DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE A RIGHT ARSE OUT OF YOURSELF

Bridget Jones. Becky Bloom. Shirley Valentine. These are characters who don’t worry about saggy bikini bottoms or crazy beach hair: these are characters who throw themselves head-first into the fun and think about the consequences later. Are you really going to have an epic holiday adventure if you keep worrying about what’s sensible? You’ll end up with an accountancy textbook rather than a chick lit novel with that approach, so let your hair down and make your mantra: what if?

2)     DON’T OVERLOOK THE QUIET ONES

The waiters have all the smooth chat up lines, the muscled guy on the beach is confidently giving you the eye, but don’t miss that quieter guy, reading a book by the pool or sipping a beer at the bar. Not only will he be a better longterm bet (if that’s what you’re after) but you know what they say about the quiet ones… Case in point: Mark Darcy.

3)     TAKE AN UNPREDICTABLE FRIEND.

She might not be the friend that you to take to Sunday lunch with your rents, you may not lend her your best suede handbag but you can count on this friend to get any party started. We’ve all got one – you’re picturing her as you read this, right? All good chick lit novels need some surprising, jaw-dropping twists so take your slightly out-there mate and see what kind of a cliffhanger ending she can help you find.

4)     ‘UM, I DROPPED MY PHONE IN MY DRINK LAST NIGHT!’

If you’re as excited by the thought of taking home a boyfriend as you are by taking home third-degree sunburn, leave your mobile right at the bottom of your suitcase. If you can’t take his number and you can’t ‘remember’ yours, this holiday fling will stay where it belongs: far far away.

5)     PSSST: THIS ISN’T REAL LIFE

So maybe in your hometown you’d never dare wear that neon bright sarong or stride up to the hottest guy in the pub and ask what he’s drinking. Dorothy: we’re not in Kansas anymore. Going on holiday is the perfect opportunity to experiment with a little reinvention. The best thing about reading a chick lit novel is that it takes you away from real lie and ou suspend disbelief for just a few pages while you get lost in the story. So get lost in your own story this summer – only you decide how it will end!

POPPY DOLAN’s romantic comedy story for SUNLOUNGER 2 is called CONNECTING FLIGHTS and set in San Sebastian.

SARONG It doesn’t take Paul Daniels to see the magic in one whisp of fabric that can be draped around the body to hide the after effects of a pizza by the pool, an all-you-can-eat-buffet and copious Woo Woos.

SUNGLASSES There is a giant yellow ball in the sky. You haven’t seen it for ages. Without sunglasses you know there will be surprised squinting. When there is squinting there are frown lines. When there are frown lines you start contemplating Botox. Thoughts of Botox have no place on a relaxed summer holiday. Sunglasses do.

SUNHAT There will be sun, sea and sand. There will also be frizz, frying and flyaway. Sherlock Holmes would deduce a sassy hat not only looks good but keeps your hair hidden from the elements. May we suggest a straw or canvas number? On this occasion a deerstalker would be entirely wrong.

SWIMSUITS, BIKINIS, TRIKINIS, MANKINIS, ANY-KINDA-KINIS A girl can never have too much swimwear. While one set is drying on the balcony you’re going to need a fresh one because there are few things in life worse than stepping into soggy swimwear.

AFTER-SUN LOTION Chances are you’ve unveiled your ghost of a body on day one and in your haste to achieve skin the colour of golden syrup you’ve ended up getting burnt and now resemble the crackling on pink pork. This is when you’re glad you’ve packed that after-sun lotion. Yes, it’s torture when you first slick that icy cold Aloe Vera-based liquid on the inferno you’re calling skin but soon your body will no longer feel like you’ve pulled it tight with a bulldog clip.

Lara Williamson is a former Beauty Editor and Guest Author for the SUNLOUNGER Anthology. Her story is set in Lindos, Greece.