Jill Mansell's A-Z of Happiness

by Jill Mansell

In this delightful ebook, Jill Mansell gives readers an exclusive glimpse of her life as a writer. In Jill's world there's a bear (not a real one), lit up by fairy lights, with zillions of happy endings buzzing around, eating Chinese takeaway for breakfast, getting up late and tweeting A LOT. Oh, and there's been an explosion in the glitter factory!

Recommended for all with withdrawal symptoms from THE UNPREDICTABLE CONSQUENCES OF LOVE, and anticipation disorder for THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU.

Includes A-Z OF HAPPINESS, A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN EASILY DISTRACTED WRITER, AUTHOR Q&A - and the opening chapters of THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU.

NOT A NOVEL - but a little happiness fix.

Genres: Chick Lit, Short Stories, Romance, Nonfiction, Contemporary

52 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol, and writes full time. Actually that’s not true; she watches TV, eats fruit gums, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the internet marvelling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of displacement activities does she write.

Jill Mansell's books have sold over ten million copies and her titles include: Making your Mind up, Fast Friends, Good at Games, Sheer Mischief and Solo, among many others.

Reviews

[Kirsty ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an email earlier saying I was reaching the maximum storage for kindle books & documents. I have way too many that still need reading so decided to have a bit of a declutter of some I can hand on heart say I won’t read or have read and archived them. Whilst doing this I found this book of Jill’s – her A-Z of Happiness. No idea why I have it as I doubt I’ve read more than 1 or 2 of her books. No negative reason I just haven’t.

Anyway it’s a tiny thing that is exactly what it says in the title – an A-Z of all the things that make her happy. Plus an extra Day in the Life chapter. The day before was spent mostly not being able to catch a train and being outside in the cold. You turn on the TV/Social Media and we have Brexit & Trump and so much negative news so this booked popped up at exactly the right time for me.

I read it in my lunch break as it’s that small but it really does make you think about your own happiness and where you find it. It’s inspired me to have a go at creating my own A-Z. I’ve done half of the alphabet so far and it’s been a fun exercise to do.

So if you are feeling down and want a little pick-me-up that will cheer you take a look at this, see if it inspires your own happy thoughts. I absolutely loved it.

[Irena BookDustMagic]

This is just a glimpse of Jill Mansell's life as an author.
I don't even know where it belongs if you want to categorise it.
It gave me the vibe I was reading a longer article about this author in a magazine.

I always like to know about writer's rituals and about things they like, what inspires them and how their family cope with the fact they live with a writer.
This piece responded to my curiosity solidly.

I also think aspiring writers would like to read this.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure, like other aspiring writers, that you often wonder what it would be like to be an author. This book was like having a little look into the life of one of my favourite authors and it was wonderful. Jill is not only a wonderful author who has brought me hours of joy but she seems like the type of lady I'd love to have lunch with. A wonderful read!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jill Mansell's A-Z of Happiness

Didn't interest me, boring to read.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an author I don't know but from this short Ebook I love her style as well as her personality.
I will be trying to find some of her books when I'm in need of a good chick lit
(Plus the covers of her books are absolutely gorgeous)

[Lindsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fun easy read - great insight into jill’s writing and life!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after waking up on a cold, wet and miserable Sunday morning. It really did bring a smile to my face.

Jill shares her A-Z of things that make her happy. I want to do the same now! I love the thought of her fairy lights, and bear. It is a lovely list that made me smile.

It was fascinating to hear about a typical day in the life of a writer. And to learn that Jill writes all her books using fountain pen was lovely, and they feel more personal and special now.


There are also some Q&A with Jill. Again really interesting.

A quick an feel good read

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun

[J Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely!

I have loved Jill’s books since my early 20s so let’s say a decade (ish)…!
As a fan of the books it was lovely to have a read about the person behind them, this little book was like having a coffee with a friend you haven’t chatted to for ages.
I can see Jill in a lot of her books, especially the silk scarves, bright colours etc (mind you, I can also see my mum in the books as she likes the same things!)

Overall just a lovely little book to read. As I say, it feels like a relaxed little catch up with a friend you don’t get to speak to very often.

[Hannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een dun boekje van Jill Mansell over haarzelf en haar werk als schrijfster. Ik vind het altijd leuk om te lezen hoe ze het schrijfproces aanpakken. Elke schrijver heeft toch weer zijn eigen manier. Wat ik een leuk weetje vond is dat Jill Mansell haar boeken nog met de hand schrijft. Het boekje bevat ook de eerste hoofdstukken van een nieuw boek, maar die heb ik niet gelezen. Ik doe dat meestal niet, omdat ik dan ook wil weten hoe het boek afloopt.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually 4 and a half because I'm not a fan of book previews, they stick in my head and work their way I to something else and I can never remember the name of the book preview I've enjoyed. Having said that, I enjoyed this short book and had forgotten how much I enjoyed Jill Mansells writing. I have just finished a Milly Johnson book andMs Mansel has a similar style of writing, comfort food of books style writing.

[~☆starlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a massive jill mansell fan and i really enjoyed this. It made for interesting reading getting to know a bit about the author behind the great books. Its about forty something pages in length so about a 20 -30 minute read depending on how fast a reader you are, its divided up into differnt sections about different aspects of Jill its witty, funny and full of warmth i really enjoyed it 😊

[Tammy (tales.of.tammy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Mansell is actually quite funny!!!! This is a short ebook of little bits about Jill - things she likes, writing questions, what’s in her handbag, etc. I found myself laughing quite a few times! Something fun and different to read (although we MUST discuss how all cats are NOT psychopaths!!!!! Lol)

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew into a young adult on a diet of Jill Mansell books & I've never yet been disappointed by one of them. This short ebook was enjoyable & you got to know more about the person behind the pen. ps her handbags just like mine lol 😂

[Nadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doesn’t add much

I am a huge fan of Jill Mansell's books, but this doesn't add much in my opinion. Some parts of this book are mildly entertaining, but I skipped other parts. For me this book is not a 'must-read'.

[Steph Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really fun way of getting to know an author. I enjoyed the snippet given to us here, a woman after my own heart with a love of crisps!!

[Milly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit bummed by Jill's new book. I usually love them, but it seemed like parts of the book were missing and you just had to assume that certain things had happened. Very strange..

[Sianne Wardle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I thought but good light reading

[Gertrude · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short article about things that make Jill Mansell happy

[Tracey Pearce]

Can't really rate this as don't know what it was classified as but still enjoyed it. Need to read her books again as nearly twenty years since last read her

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read, finished in 20 minutes. Worth reading

[s · Rating 3 out of 5]

too short for me tbh, it gives me different vibes of writing from Jill Mansell bc i usually don't read Jill Mansell's novel this short tbh

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t really what I was expecting. 3.5⭐️

[Mim · Rating 3 out of 5]

.

[anna wakelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time

I've not read any off Jill mansells before it was ok, nothing bad to say, kept me entertained will read something else by her

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read for a short e book.

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve only ever read one of Jill Mansell’s books. It was called Rumour Has It and I remember reading it on a train coming home from my grandad’s house – the journey from Eastbourne to Liverpool is a long one. This may seem insignificant to you but I know a good book if I can remember where I was when I was reading it. And although I have only ever read one of Jill Mansell’s novels I do have a collection of her books which take up plenty of room on my bookshelves ready to be read one day.

I needed to read a book for the #ShortStorySaturday segment on my blog so I chose to read Jill Mansell’s A-Z of Happiness because let’s face it there is enough misery and dreariness in January so a book that guarantees happiness is already a winner in my eyes.

Jill Mansell’s A-Z of Happiness happens not to be a short story (I was fooled) but a non-fiction book of things that make Jill Mansell happy – sort of like Ronseal, it does what it says on the tin. And whilst it doesn’t quite fit the remit of ‘short story’ I am still going to include it here.

What I loved about this very little book (46 pages) is that it was utterly inspiring. I loved the section in which Jill Mansell describes her daily writing life and her Q and A was really entertaining. As an aspiring writer I enjoyed seeing how the other half (that being published writers) live.

Mansell’s A-Z of happiness has inspired a blog post (Wednesday, 4th February 2015) in which I will discuss my A-Z of happy things. It is so easy to slip into the moaning zone and grumbling about the bad things that go on daily. I choose the Jill Mansell way; I choose to find my happiness.

Jill Mansell’s A-Z of Happiness by Jill Mansell is available now.

You can follow Jill Mansell (@jillmansell) on Twitter.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like her books you will like this e - short too.
First there is an a to z list, but it is a happy list. The explanations had me smile more than once.
Next there is a day in her life and how and where she writes.
After that she answers questions from readers which have to do with her writing. The answers are nice to read.

Last there are the first chapters of her new book which will be out in January. I doubted if I wanted to read them, because it only would be a teaser leaving me longing to read the full book. But I did read it. And yes it is making want me to read the book NOW! First chapters are promising and it plays around Christmas, why pub
is it in January and not now? ;-)

[Derrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read my first Jill Mansell novel about 20 years ago,and have read every book she has ever written since.

To me,her books are the perfect escapism from day to day life and I always look forward to her latest offering.

The A-Z of Happiness provides a great insight into Jill Mansell herself,how she writes her books as well as a Q&A section.

A lovely short revealing the personality behind the novelist.