I am delighted to be joining in with Caroline James’ The Best Boomerville Hotel blog tour 🙂 

Interview with Caroline James…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book please?

Hi Kerry, thanks for hosting me on your lovely blog. I am a UK based author and have been writing books for the last five years. My new novel, The Best Boomerville Hotel, was inspired by a hotel that I used to own in the Lake District. It was a lovely old building and with an eclectic group of guests checking in and out each day and stories were constantly in my head waiting to be told. When I was planning the book my research found that one in three people over the age of fifty in the UK are single and I thought it would be fun to create a virtual hotel for this age group and beyond to discover new experiences, from conservative to whacky, and discover how to make the most of the rest of their lives. Boomerville has tutors who include a Shaman who runs classes in a tepee, a clairvoyant called Queenie who sits in an old gypsy caravan, alongside James, a creative writing tutor, Potter Paul and Lucinda an eccentric artist. Guests often learn more than they bargained for!

Where do you get your ideas from?

My working life has been spent in the hospitality industry and it has been a wonderful area to exploit when thinking of new ideas to write about. I’ve had some amazing experiences on my travels and met some fascinating people.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

No. They are a figment of my imagination or elements of characters that I come across and then expand. Characters form themselves as you write and get to know them. They often surprise me by what they do!

How do you pick your character’s names?

A name must feel right for the character I’m writing about. I create a list and just know when it fits.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

Stolen hours, usually early mornings. Not every day but now, when writing a novel, at least four full days a week.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I’d love to sit down and chat with Arnold Bennett who wrote in the 1900s. He often wrote from a woman’s perspective and I would like to ask him how he managed to do this because he had great empathy. Willy Russell also achieved this quite brilliantly with Shirley Valentine and I think it is a great skill.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes, I always loved books although I hated school.

When did you start to write?

I never thought I was good enough and didn’t have the courage to write but six years ago I realised that if I didn’t have a go I would die wondering. My debut, Coffee Tea The Gypsy & Me was born and went straight to #3 in women’s fiction on Amazon. It was the best decision I ever made.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

No. A good book leaves me in admiration of the author and encourages me to write better.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

Life on the Edge

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be?

I’d love a couple of hours with Tommy Shelby from Peaky Blinders. I don’t think we’d be drinking coffee…

What are you working on right now?

A novel called Hattie Goes to Hollywood which is a detective story so quite a change for me and the follow up to The Best Boomerville Hotel.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Sit at my desk with a glass of bubbles and work social media then enjoy a lovely meal with family and friends.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I love to hear from readers and can be contacted on all the links below.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Caroline 🙂

Thank YOU Kerry and happy reading everyone xx

Caroline James Links:

http://www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk

http://www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk

Twitter:@CarolineJames12 https://twitter.com/CarolineJames12

Facebook: Caroline James Author https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolineJames/

The Best Boomerville Hotel Links:

Amazon: http://mybook.to/TBBH

Kobo: https://goo.gl/VRh2XT

Ibooks/Google: https://goo.gl/2aq7sz

Itunes: https://apple.co/2lZrl6F

Enjoy!