Interview with Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer…..

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

I’m a freelance writer and educator based in Philadelphia. I am so pleased to share the release of The Little Gate Crasher,  a memoir of my truly extraordinary Great Uncle, Mace Bugen. My other recent books include The Creative Jewish Wedding Book and The Kitchen Classroom. I’m a featured blogger for WHYY Philly Parenting and I write for and edit The New Normal: Blogging Disability. I’m now blogging on Medium, too.

I’m a mom of two great kids who are now 15 and 12 and have been married to my husband Fred for 17 years. Our family is complete with our beautiful 6-year-old yellow lab, Hank.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

My latest book The Little Gate Crasher,  a memoir of my truly extraordinary Great Uncle, Mace Bugen.

My Grandmother Minerva, my Great-Uncle Mace’s older sister, was a wonderful storyteller and told me many stories about her childhood as I was growing up—she had grown up in a completely different circumstance, as a daughter of immigrants who had recently come to America and who worked hard in their grocery store to make a living. It was the Great depression and every penny counted. My Grandma shared many stories about her brother Mace and how impressed she was by his ability to not pity himself for being a dwarf and to not think less of himself—even though others teased or jeered at him.

When my Grandmother died, Mace’s photo album with his amazing celebrity photos was passed down to my Mom. My family and I would look at it and marvel as the unique history Mace created of pop culture from the mid-40s to the mid-70s—he had “celebrity selfies” with Ella Fitzgerald, Joe DiMaggio, Nixon, Ali—all of the famous athletes, politicians and entertainers of the era.

As I looked at the photos, I thought of Mace’s story and wondered not only how did he manage to get these photos considering his limited mobility—but why? What did these photos mean to him and what we can learn from there?

A great story emerged—of a confidant man given a significant challenge who viewed himself as no less than anyone else, despite the message that society continually gave him.

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

See above—my book is a memoir 

How do you pick your characters names?

N/a

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

For “The Little Gate-Crasher,” I began with a research process.

During my Great-Uncle’s life, he was interviewed by a number of journalists and featured in different newspapers and magazines—because he was such a unique and interesting person. My grandmother kept a file with all of those articles and we saved that file when she died—so a great amount of research was quite literally handed to me. I loved that I got to hear about Mace’s life from his perspective through those interviews.

Once I had read through everything, I started to outline Mace’s life story in a linear fashion, highlighting the major events that happened. I was blessed to have an amazing editor Mike Sager who read my first couple of chapters and gave me feedback and direction. We decided to start with an exciting opening story—the moment when Mace was a teenager left home and took a bus across the country by himself to see a professional fight. The rest of the book really flowed once I found the opening story!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

It’s a hard question—but right now I am really drawn to contemporary writers who share their lives with strength, humor, passion and vulnerability, including:

• Roxane Gay

• Anne Lamott

• Louise Erdrich

• David Sedaris

• Elizabeth Stroudt

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

It would have to be Anne Lamott and I would ask her to talk about courage and the writing process. She inspires me with the depth of vulnerability, faith, pain and humor in her writing.

Were you a big reader as a child?

I was a voracious reader. I grew up in a small town and in the 1980s and there weren’t a whole lot of different options for entertainment. It was a big sports town and I wasn’t (and am not) into sports. Reading was an escape—and also stimulated my imagination. I was always making up stories in my head and with the encouragement of a great third grade teacher, I started putting them down on paper.

When did you start to write?

My third grade teacher gave us a writing assignment and she recognized that I had some ability! She gave me time in class to continue to write stories. That belief in me at a young age gave me the confidence to keep writing. I’ve studied and written poetry and playwrighting and later came to nonfiction and memoir. This is my groove!

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I think I have too much respect for a writer’s craft to want to change a book ending!

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I don’t have a book that I wish I’d written—but I am dreaming of what books I’ll write in the years ahead.

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

Everyday Holiness

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I would invite Laura from The Little House books and take her to beautiful hotel restaurant.

What are you working on right now?

I’m leading lots of fun discussions about “The Little Gate-Crasher”—it’s free for your book group and I can Skype or Facetime anywhere in the world! I love hearing what readers have to say. I’ve recently started blogging on Medium—come check it out! I’m working on several children’s books that I’m excited about.

Do you have a new release due?

N/a

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Blast out my news on social media!

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I love to hear from readers! I’m on twitter at @gabkaplanmayer and you can also reach me via my web site: http://www.gabriellekaplanmayer.com

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Thanks!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Gabrielle 🙂

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The Little Gate-Crasher

Mace Bugen might have been an achondroplastic dwarf, 43 inches tall with an average size head and torso set on small, twisted legs—but that didn’t mean he was an idiot or a pushover. In truth, he was smarter than most; over the years, he learned to effectively turn what society in those days called a handicap into a powerful tool he could use to his advantage.

“When I was a kid,” he once said, “I’d ask myself, Why is that guy on the football team? Why can’t I be on the team? Why didn’t God give me the height so I could be the hero?”

“Then at some point I figured it out: I gotta do something special to let ’em know I’m me.”

In The Little Gate Crasher: The Life And Photos Of Mace Bugen, I remember my amazing great-Uncle Mace Bugen through his journey as a first-generation Jewish-American kid in working class Philipsburg, NJ to becoming the first celebrity selfie-artist—way ahead of his time.

Featuring vintage photos of Mace with his exploits, The Little Gate Crasher captures three decades of American pop culture, seen through the unique lens of Mace and his gate-crashing exploits.

Underneath his antics, we meet a complex man who continually defies others expectations and meets life on his own terms. Mace becomes a successful businessman and devoted son to his aging parents. But in his gate-crashing antics, we best get to see Mace’s unique combination of guile, cunning and sense of entitlement, which he used to engineer photos of himself with some of the biggest celebrities of his day. If people were going to stare at him all of his life, he would give them something to see.

The Little Gate Crasher features over 50 vintage photos of Mace with celebrities, athletes and politicians, including Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Muhammed Ali, Richard Nixon, Jane Russel, Joe DiMaggio and more.

Amazon US –

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Gate-Crasher-Life-Photos-Bugen-ebook/dp/B01EH101EC/

Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Gate-Crasher-Life-Photos-Bugen-ebook/dp/B01EH101EC/

Author Bio –

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer is an experienced educator, author and speaker. At Jewish Learning Venture, she works as Director of Whole Community Inclusion and leads disability awareness programs for the Philadelphia Jewish community. Her most recent book The Little Gate Crasher, a memoir of her Great-Uncle, who overcame society’s prejudices about dwarfism to lead a remarkable life, was one of the national book selections for 2017 Jewish Disability Awareness & Inclusion Month. Gabby writes for and edits The New York Jewish Week’s The New Normal: Blogging Disability and is also a featured Philly parenting blogger for WHYY’s newsworks. Gabby holds a B.F.A. in theatre and creative writing from Emerson College and an M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. 

Social Media Links –

www.gabriellekaplanmayer.com

@gabkaplanmayer

https://www.facebook.com/littlegatecrasher/

Giveaway

Win a paperback copy of The Little Gate-Crasher (Open to US & Canada only)

*Terms and Conditions –USA / Canada entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Check out the rest of the blog blitz for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Enjoy!

Hi!

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Mandz Singh to Chat About Books 🙂

With thanks to Sophie Morgan at Troubador Publishing.

Interview with Mandz Singh…..

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

I have resided in three continents, lived in a gold rush town, travelled across Australia and stood in the elephant visiting caves of Mt Elgon. The book is about an Englishwoman, Catherine who travels with her mother from England to India in 1898. While her father who is stationed at the Punjab university is their direction, destiny intervenes and crosses her path with Kharak, a recently qualified engineer from Lahore and so begins a journey of starcrossed romance. In disapproval, her father incited by Ivan, a colonial engineer conceive a plan to avert her from falling in love with Kharak by sending him to work in British East Africa Protectorate. With everything to lose, she follows him there hoping to express her love.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

From Historical events that I used my imagination to weave a story.

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

Unfortunately, none.

How do you pick your characters names?

Searched from names during that era and then picked the ones I liked.

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

I used to write daily on weekdays for an hour to make my travel on the train to work productive.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Fredrick Forsyth, Dan Brown, Enid Blyton, Tom Clancey, James Patterson

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

Fredrick Forsyth and ask him his secret to being a master story teller.

Were you a big reader as a child?

I loved reading as a child

When did you start to write?

2006

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I would change the ending of The Tree Planters Wife. In the end, the lead character’s child whom she had given away died for no reason at all.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

The day of the Jackal.

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

Looking back at the dots.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Fredrick Forsyth and take him for a coffee at a small café near where I live.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.

I was a squad member of the under 21 Kenyan hockey team.

What are you working on right now?

Having published my book, I’m taking a break.

Tell us about your last release?

The Folded Notes

Do you have a new release due?

Not in the immediate future

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

Had a get together with family and friends

How can readers keep in touch with you?

Through Facebook

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I believe that every reader of my book will have something that will resonate with them that is weaved in the story

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Mandz!

Inspired by history comes this breathtaking story of star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of colourful nineteenth century India…

“The book’s cross-cultural relationship is refreshing, and its peek into sites around Lahore is delightful.”

– Kirkus Reviews

A different world awaits Catherine Rose, an Englishwoman who travels with her mother from England to India. While her father, stationed at the Punjab University, is their direction, destiny intervenes and crosses her path with the educated and kind Kharak. A recently qualified engineer from Lahore who works for the Indian railways, he is as taken with the feminine, unreserved Englishwoman as she is with him. Aghast at the blossoming friendship, her father, incited by Ivan, a colonial engineer, arranges to keep Catherine and Kharak from falling in love. Arranging matters, he gets Kharak sent to work in another British colony, never to see or speak to his daughter again. In the last few moments he has, Kharak manages to leave two notes for Catherine.

Flouting her father’s orders, Catherine flees in secret and follows her heart, away from Lahore to Mombasa. But little does she know that Ivan, as Kharak’s supervisor, will be there – nor that he is now her pursuer. With everything to lose, hope is all that Catherine can cling to, hope that love will win the day and she and Kharak will finally be together.

Inspired by history and written with first-hand knowledge of the locations, this achingly moving historical romance crosses continents from England to India and East Africa during a fascinating part of history. The plot is woven between lush descriptions to create a compelling story of forbidden love and an uncertain ending that will linger long after the last page.

Purchase link…..

https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/historical/the-folded-notes/

Author Bio:

Mandz Singh has been a world cup soccer analyst for a radio station, resided on three continents, lived in a gold rush town, travelled across Australia, and stood in the elephant visiting caves of Mount Elgon. This debut novel was written during commuting hours on trains to London from Berkshire, where he now lives.

Hi and welcome to my stop on Mhairead MacLeod’s The False Men blog tour!

Interview with Mhairead MacLeod…..

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

I was born in Scotland and now live in Australia with my husband. I have two children. I write historical novels and have university degrees—in Law and in Creative Writing—which formed the groundwork for my writing.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

For The False Men, the idea started when I heard about the real story of a brave young woman who lived in the remote islands west of Scotland. It’s her story of struggling for independence and love, really. When you write historical fiction I believe you really have to pay attention to historical truth. Of course, the joy of this genre is that a writer’s imagination is allowed to fill the gaps between what is known, what isn’t, and what can be plausibly assumed.

They say you should write what you know, but I also like to write what I don’t know. Writing historical fiction allows you to step into the past and explore it on a human level, through the individual experience of the characters. In The False Men, the landscape was a character in its own right and this was inspired by times I’ve spent in the Hebrides.

I got the idea for my current manuscript from a rundown building I saw in North Queensland, Australia, and the nurse who lived there a hundred years ago.

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

My three main protagonists in The False Men are based on real people who lived in the mid-nineteenth century. My research covered both written records and oral history from people now living in the Outer Hebrides. Fictional characters evolve out of your imagination but I got a surprise when, a while after I’d created the character of Jess’s close friend and maid, I discovered that the historical Jess actually did have a very similar, close friendship with her maid, despite the class differences of the time.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

Names have to be relevant to the characters’ time and geography. For instance, if I’d called my 1850s protagonist Madison instead of Jess it would jar. I mostly used the real names of my main protagonists, but for fictional minor characters I drew on historical names to fit.

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

My novel The False Men took quite a few years to write as it involved a lot of detailed research. My schedule is fluid but the number one rule is to try to write most days of the week. I have whole days when I spent hours writing, and often they start with a goal of writing just 100 words. Writing a novel is a marathon, but for me it’s a compulsion!

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

I’ll try to whittle them down to five. They do change and I often have favourites of the moment. My current favourites are quite different from each other:

• Kazuo Ishiguro

• Michael Ondaatje

• Margaret Atwood

• Colum McCann

• A.L. (Alison) Kennedy

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

I would love to meet Thomas Hardy. I was a big fan of Tess of the d’Urbevilles and Far from the Madding Crowd. These novels really inspired me. For a Victorian, he had a great empathy with societal issues and understanding of romantic relationships. I’d describe him as a romantic realist. If I met him I’d ask him about his real Bathsheba, his real Tess, and what made him write from their perspective.

Were you a big reader as a child?

My first memories are reading The Arabian Nights and the Enid Blyton series, especially the adventures of the Famous Five. When I was a little older, I became obsessed with novels about Australian brumbies. I was about 13 when I discovered Georgette Heyer’s novels and I decided I wanted to write historical fiction.

When did you start to write?

There were a lot of false starts. As a kid I wrote bad poetry and song lyrics. I won a national essay competition when I was 11. I wrote my first novel (a children’s novel) in my early twenties and sent it off to a publisher’s competition. When it was rejected I didn’t look for publication elsewhere. I started writing seriously when I commenced my MA in Creative Writing degree in 2006.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

Wuthering Heights. I’d have kept Heathcliff and Cathy alive a bit longer. Heathcliff is such an intriguing and complex character. But then, that might have ruined a great novel.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee.

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

Regret Nothing.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

The butler Stevens, in Remains of the Day by Kazugo Ishiguro. He is so beautifully described I feel I know him intimately. I’d have invited him to coffee (probably tea for him) early in his career and given him a good talking to about it being fine to follow your heart, that snobbery can be dangerous. Because he’s such a fusspot I’d take him somewhere with silverware and starched napkins, like The Ritz. Mind you, if he took my advice that would ruin the plot.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on a time-slip novel which I’m very excited about. It involves both medieval Scotland and modern-day Australia.

Tell us about your last release?

The False Men is based on a true story. It involves a romantic love triangle, and also platonic love between friends. But it’s not just about love, especially because it’s set in a time of social brutality and upheaval. The story revolves around Jess Mackay, the daughter of a wealthy landowner in the Outer Hebrides who falls in love with someone she discovers is not the person she first thought, and is then pressured by her father to marry a man she detests. Her world falls apart when her friend’s village is annihilated on the orders of the three men she now knows well. The story follows the brave choice Jess makes and its consequences.

Do you have a new release due?

I have a completed manuscript set in the 1920s, which is currently with an editor. I’ll put up any publication news on my website.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I signed the publication contract for The False Men two years before it was published so I had lots of time to anticipate. Because I was flying to the UK to launch it a few days after publication, I ended up having a quiet celebration with my husband on the actual day. Celebration with friends came later with a glass of champagne.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I have a website where readers are very welcome to contact me:

https://www.mhaireadmacleod.com

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Readers make the world go round!

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

Synopsis 

North Uist, Outer Hebrides, 1848

Jess MacKay has led a privileged life as the daughter of a local landowner, sheltered from the harsher aspects of life. Courted by the eligible Patrick Cooper, the Laird’s new commissioner, Jess’s future is mapped out, until Lachlan Macdonald arrives on North Uist, amid rumours of forced evictions on islands just to the south.

As the uncompromising brutality of the Clearances reaches the islands, and Jess sees her friends ripped from their homes, she must decide where her heart, and her loyalties, truly lie.

Set against the evocative backdrop of the Hebrides and inspired by a true story, The False Men is a compelling tale of love in a turbulent past that resonates with the upheavals of the modern world.

Buy Link: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/False-Men-Mhairead-MacLeod-ebook/dp/B073TL3PFS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1529500148&sr=1-1&keywords=The+False+Men

About Mhairead MacLeod:

Mhairead MacLeod was born in Inverness, Scotland and spent her early childhood on the Isle of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

She now lives in Brisbane, Australia where she worked as an ethics lawyer, investigator and university lecturer. She holds Masters degrees in both Law and in Creative Writing.

An earlier draft of The False Men was short-listed for a HarperCollins Varuna Award for Manuscript Development and also won a Hachette Manuscript Development Award.

An Unconventional Affair. Book 1 Email Indulgence

Tranquility “Tee” Hammond is head of a law firm. Having escaped a violent husband, with a son she was really too young to have had, her life revolved around her work. There was little time for anything else and she didn’t need anything else. When she was inclined to treat herself to a little sexual pleasure, she engaged the services of Email Indulgence—an exclusive club—one email for one night of sex with a man she didn’t know and didn’t need to care about again. For her, it was enough. But her life was about to be changed by a friend of Tee’s son at university, Barrington Stone, fifteen years her junior who is determined to woo her into an unconventional affair.

Purchase from Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unconventional-Affair-Book-Cheshire-Story-ebook/dp/B07FPB4P6C

Bio

Mollie Blake is a published author of contemporary romance. A lover of reading sexy stories, Mollie decided to go one step further and write her own. Her romances are filled with danger and peppered with hot sexy scenes. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and UK Romantic Novelists Association.

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/mollie.blake.54/

https://twitter.com/MollieBlake0

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/mollieblakeauth/

https://www.instagram.com/mollieblake.author/

Interview with Paula Houseman…..

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

I grew up in what felt like a Looney Tunes cartoon. It was in the days before Australia had become a multicultural society, and before political correctness started trending. My immigrant parents tried hard to live the Australian way—my father thought he was living it because he could fart the national anthem. Even when I’d reached the age where parents are an utter embarrassment to their children, I thought this was funny. But I was hardwired to laugh at pretty much everything. It got me into a lot of trouble as a kid and I became an utter embarrassment to my parents. Now, seeing the humour in everything is my stock-in-trade. My style is a little Monty Pythonesque. And I’m chuffed that my name’s been mentioned in the same breath as satirical novelist Carl Hiaasen, and that my protagonist Ruth Roth has been likened to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum!

My three off-the-wall books: Odyssey in a Teacup (not-your-ordinary chick lit, coming-of-age story), Cupid F*cks Up (formerly titled Apoca[hot]lips) and My T(r)oyboy is a Twat (not your ordinary romantic comedies). They’re part of a series, but also all standalones.

The best way to tell you about the books is to give you a sense of my protagonist. If she had a rap sheet, it would read like this:

Name: Ruth Roth (unfairly deprived of a middle name)

Height: 5’ 3 and a bit”

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Reddish, mid-brown (not straight; not curly. But a definite kick in it)

Build: Slim

CRIMES:

Public mischief: Swears like a drunken sailor. Suffers intrusive and immoral thoughts—struggles to keep them in check. Gives up the struggle and lets loose.

Accomplices: Two females (one with a big mouth; the other with a big caboose); One male—hot-looking cousin/bestie with OCPD (needs to do everything twice, twice).

Consorting (with questionable elements): A woman with two vaginas; real-estate agent who looks like a Ken-doll with moulded hair and moulded God-knows-what-else; humourless school teacher who applies makeup with a trowel, has long cuspids, hairy arms, blokey voice, and smells like vanilla car deodoriser (ecch).

Dangerous driving: Drives mother up the wall. But has grounds for acquittal and should be awarded aggravated damages. The woman’s a pain in the arse.

Connections to the ‘underworld’: Viz. her lizard brain and its lowlife contents.

Abandonment: Leaves herself.

Fraud: Becomes a blech milquetoast version of her wild-child self.

Divorce: Leaves Mr Ticks-the-Boxes, then reluctantly falls for Mr Morally Wrong.

Arson: She sets his heart on fire, yeah baby, baby.

Contempt of court(ship): She’s not so sure, but then takes the plunge. Lands in hot water.

Trespassing: On neighbour’s property—house-cum-dumpster shithole. Grounds for reduced sentence. The neighbour is a munter who trespasses on people’s lives.

Matricide: Metaphorically speaking. Mama often guilted her with ‘You’ll be the death of me!’

Concealment: Makes hubby hide devastating secret. Creates tension. But men don’t listen. His big mouth sends everyone into hell, except for her late pain-in-the-arse mother, who blows in from there, still carping—‘Nyah, nyah, told you so!’

Misconduct: Alleged. Only alleged! Sexy celebrity pants man, who wants to get into hers. And an educated silicone seductress, who has designs on hubby.

Mayhem: A bombshell—a doozy—threatens to unyoke Ruth and hub’s fragile union, and undo fragile Ruth.

Enough plot twists to put out an APB.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I seriously thought my life had been boring—nothing to write home about. But when I began writing about home and revisiting memories from my past, I unearthed a treasure trove of stupidity.

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

Many of my characters are adaptations or composites of people I know. Or have met, even if only briefly. But as the story progresses, the characters evolve and take on a life of their own. I have the most fun with the worst ‘originals’—they provide the best raw materials for writing.

How do you pick your characters names?

I don’t consciously pick them, I let them come to me. And in some instances I’ve realised just how inspired the choice was because the character’s name has become an aspect of the story. (Ruth Roth’s issue with her single-syllable-no-middle-name name has become a bit of a sub-theme.)

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

I’m not a plotter; I’m a pantser—I fly by the seat of my pants. I get out of the way and let the story and characters lead me. Mostly, astray. But I love writing this way because I never know what to expect. So, I’m both writer and reader.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

I write humour, but I enjoy reading a good whodunnit. My five favourites are David Baldacci (Amos Decker series), Lee Child (Jack Reacher series), Harlan Coben (Myron Bolitar series), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller series), and Sandra Brown (who combines murder, mystery and romance).

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

I haven’t read J.K Rowling’s books but I greatly admire her as a person. I’d probably have heaps of questions if I met her, not least, ‘Would you like to share some of your net profit with me?’

I’d also ask her for tips on how to rock a synopsis. Writing a 90,000-word book: a joy. (I even dig the editing.) Writing a 150-word blurb: hell! It’s the bane of all authors. So much pressure …

A lousy blurb won’t sell a book no matter how good the book is.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes. Books were an escape for me. My favourites were Heidi and Pollyanna.

When did you start to write?

Having been in trouble so often for laughing at inappropriate times and for arguing against my parents’ adopted views, it became easier to just shut up. But it wasn’t healthy. So I started expressing within the safety of a personal journal. That was 27 years ago. And as I slowly unmuted my voice and uncovered ideas I didn’t even know I had, I expressed them through essays at university. My offbeat opinions were respected, and that gave me the courage to put myself out there a little more: first through an online community for poets and writers, then through my books and blogs.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

It wouldn’t be the ending of a specific book as much as a specific genre. The fairy-tale romance.

I grew up with Grimms’ fairy tales. I think these stories with their damsel in distress and her impossibly thin waist (bitch!), her Prince Charming, and happy-ever-after ending duped generations of women. And we might have come far, but these unrealistic ideals that are still in force on a subtle level have become more pervasive since the internet went mainstream.

Mind you, I’m not averse to HEA, and my books have it—we all need a bit of escapism. But my approach is more of a feet-on-the-ground kind. Or, to put it in the words of one writer, it’s a ‘happy for now’ approach. The utopian sort can lead to disappointment and comparisons, and that can breed hopelessness, because life’s just not like that. (Except on Facebook. Many are unremittingly, eternally happy on Facebook.)

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I’d have to say ‘Women Who Run with the Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. She’s a brilliant storyteller and interpreter of stories. She can get under fairy tales to show us the real meaning at the root of them. Her writing is soul food at its best.

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

Woman with a Well-Shaped Farce

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I adore Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park. So, I’d have to say their character Eric Cartman—the loudest, most obnoxious, most politically incorrect and foul-mouthed! I’d take him to a super, super busy café.

What are you working on right now?

I’m in the early stages of Book 4 in the Ruth Roth Series, but it’s slow-going at the moment because of promotional work and also trying to get some blogging in.

Do you have a new release due?

My T(r)oyboy is a Twat has just been released: July 30, 2018.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I do a happy dance for five minutes, treat myself to a huge bowl of industrial-strength chocolate ice cream, then get back to writing. But I’ve written the three books back-to-back. It’s only now that I’m taking the time to appreciate my achievements, and to celebrate them … with a bowl of industrial-strength chocolate ice cream.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

They can write to me at paula@paulahouseman.com or via social media (I do love a good banter): Twitter— https://twitter.com/paulahouseman

or Facebook— https://www.facebook.com/PaulaHousemanAuthor

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

Just that we Aussies have a dry, ironic and sometimes self-deprecating humour. And profanity has a natural place in our lexicon. So, my parents might have struggled, but I’m living the Australian way!

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

Odyssey in a Teacup

Encounters with a pair of supersized Y-fronts; a humourless schoolmarm with an unfortunate name and monstrous yellow incisors; and a tut-tutting, big-breasted, modern-day gorgon are the norm for Ruth Roth. She’s used to crazy.

Her mum squawks like a harpy and her dad has a dodgy moral compass. Add in daily face-offs with a relentlessly bitchy mirror, and Ruth’s home life feels like a Greek tragicomedy.

She hankers for the ordinary. But blah is not a good fit for someone who doesn’t fit in. And isn’t meant to.

Ruth’s vanilla existence is an issue for her besties—her hot-looking, obsessive-compulsive cousin and soul mate (who needs to do everything twice-twice), and her two closest girlfriends.

With their encouragement and a good homoeopathic dose of ancient mythology, Ruth embarks on an odyssey to retrieve her spirit. She’s confronted with her biggest challenge ever, though, when one of these friends sends her spiralling back into a dark place.

The decision she must make can either bring her out or launch the mother of all wars in her world.

Purchase from Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Odyssey-Teacup-Inspiring-Chick-Novel-ebook/dp/B0153VEB2I

Author Bio –

Paula Houseman was once a graphic designer. But when the temptation to include ‘the finger’ as part of a logo for a forward-moving women’s company proved too much, she knew it was time to give away design. Instead, she took up writing.

She found she was a natural with the double entendres (God knows she’d been in enough trouble as a child for dirty wordplay).

As a published writer of earthy chick lit and romantic comedy, Paula gets to bend, twist, stretch and juice up universal experiences to shape reality the way she wants it, even if it is only in books. But at the same time, she can make it more real, so that her readers feel part of the sisterhood. Or brotherhood (realness has nothing to do with gender).

Through her books, Paula also wants to help the reader escape into life and love’s comic relief. And who doesn’t need to sometimes?

Her style is a tad Monty Pythonesque because she adores satire. It helps defuse all those gaffes and thoughts that no one is too proud of.

Paula lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband. No other creatures. The kids have flown the nest and the dogs are long gone.

Social Media Links –

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/paulahouseman

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/PaulaHouseman

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/PaulaHousemanAuthor

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulahouseman

The Mistress of Pennington’s

1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath’s leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise.

Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/2SvRcqp

Amazon US: http://a.co/bYr2KHM

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mistress-of-penningtons-rachel-brimble/1128920728?ean=9781788546508

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-mistress-of-pennington-s

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rachel_Brimble_The_Mistress_of_Pennington_s?id=dIFSDwAAQBAJ

Author Bio –

Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Since 2007, she has had several novels published by small US presses, eight books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical.

In January 2018, she signed a four-book deal with Aria Fiction for a brand new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s released July 2018.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.

Social Media Links –

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Facebook Street Team – Rachel’s Readers

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Rachel-Brimble/e/B007829ZRM/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1490948101&sr=8-1

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1806411.Rachel_Brimble

Giveaway

WIN a £20 / $20 Amazon Gift Card (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Good luck!

Check out the rest of the blog tour for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Enjoy!

If you haven’t seen my Facebook post already, I have a fab giveaway for you to enter…..

For your chance to WIN a SIGNED COPY of Alison Lingwood’s NEW RELEASE, Immersed In Murder check out the pinned post on my Facebook Blog Page –

Chat About Books Facebook Page

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Hi and welcome to my stop on Petra Jacob’s Peddling Doomsday blog tour.

With thanks to Petra Jacob and to Kelly @ Love Books Group Tours

Interview with Petra Jacob…..

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

I’m an inquisitive gardener by trade, whose hobbies include asking strangers questions and getting lost in the jungle. I like the reality we’re in, but I enjoy inventing bizarre and unexpected things, so my writing tends to involve curious possibilities hidden inside the mundane. I’ve so far written two books. The first, Riddled with Senses, is a magic realism tale, the second, Peddling Doomsday is a satirical, psychological suspense novel about a cult.

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I never know what will spark off an idea. The original idea for Peddling Doomsday came from learning more about the cultish religions that had a hold on my family when I was growing up. However, going to Borneo, working with tropical plants, a dream about being trapped in a building, experiences with psychosis, an argument with a colleague, and learning about narcissism, all played a part too. Life is so complex, the more you pay attention, the stranger it gets, so there’s always something to write about.

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

No, I’d feel a bit bad if I did that, plus real people are unknowable. I’d rather create a character from scratch so I know exactly what the inside of their head looks like.

How do you pick your characters’ names?

I go through online lists and books, pick out tens of options and then try to narrow it down. It also helps to have a reason for a name. In Peddling Doomsday my main character’s name is Deirdre, she believes it has blighted her life and wants desperately to change it. Having a basis for her name made it sound more right to me, and gave me a way of getting inside her head.

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

I’m more an unconscious than a conscious writer. I get my best ideas when I’m doing something that isn’t writing or when I let my mind wander. This leads to a lot of daydreaming and scribbled notes on scrap paper, plus some leaping out of bed just as I’m going to sleep because I’ve suddenly worked out a plot twist. When I have enough ideas, I need to put them into an order that makes sense, which is the less fun bit.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

I’m not good with these kinds of decisions, but I’ll give it a go. Stephen King, Salman Rushdie, Louis de Bernieres, Douglas Adams, Jodi Picoult.

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

Jeff Torrington – who really should have been in my top five writers – he spent thirty years writing his first book and published it when he was fifty-seven, having worked and raised a family alongside. His book, Swing Hammer Swing! was a masterpiece. I’d ask him if he wished he’d written a book sooner, or if he’d ever lost faith in what he was doing.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Definitely. With books I could escape to anywhere, learn about how others thought – something that constantly confused me – and imagine impossible worlds. Life is quite confined and inescapable when you’re a child, but books give you a way out.

When did you start to write?

I’m not sure the age, but probably seven or eight. I’d rewrite TV programs that ended with my favourite characters dying, although my solution was mostly ‘And then they didn’t die and it was all fine,’ so I didn’t show a massive amount of promise. I started writing my first book around that age too, but it was destined to only be a few pages.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I’d like to change the ending of Tess of the d’Urbervilles. The tragic finish was fitting for the time, but so hopeless, as if being victim was a romantic ideal. I wanted Tess to fight back, write some abusive graffiti on Angel’s house, or to just run away and leave her tormentors to stew in their own juices while she set up home somewhere new.

Is there a book you wish you had written?

I wish I’d written Catch 22, even to have come up with the idea behind the title would be great.

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

The only ‘me’ thing I’d want to write about would be the serious brain injury I got thirteen years ago, and the slow, complicated process of recovering from it. I’d call it Growing a Brain from Scratch.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

Dirk Gently, we could meet in a café, pick someone who looked like they knew what they were doing and be ready to follow them. A holistic adventure would probably happen, but we might not get to drink the coffee, which is good because I need to cut down.

What are you working on right now?

A book about a utopia/dystopia where everyone is forced to be nice, and how that gets exploited.

Tell us about your last release?

The latest is Peddling Doomsday, released in June. It’s about a cult run by a charismatic prophet, Myra, whose narcissism starts to get out of control.

Do you have a new release due?

No, still writing it, the dystopian book has a little way to go.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

I chew my nails, wander about aimlessly, panic that I’ve done something wrong, realise that I’ve done something wrong and frantically try to change it. Then finally go back to panicking and wandering. It’s not a glamourous day.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

I have a blog of stories and information at https://inkbiotic.com/ there’s an email sign up on there too. And a Facebook author page at https://www.facebook.com/inkbiotic/

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

One of my favourite things about this writing malarkey is hearing from readers, so if anyone out there likes what I do and wants to chat, vent or wax lyrical, then please visit me at my blog or if you happen to read my book, write me a review on Amazon. It will make my day!

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

Thank you for asking!

Blurb 

‘You don’t know how significant you are. We need you.’

No matter where she is, Deirdre feels out of place. So when a cult known as the Center contacts her, wanting her join up, she’s intrigued. They say a terrible war is coming, humanity is in danger and without explaining why, say she’s needed for the fight. Suddenly the chance to be spectacular is within her grasp. With the charismatic Myra as the cult leader, and talk of prophecies and psychic abilities, Deirdre is soon seduced and ditches her humdrum life to join up.

Once inside, her understanding of the world shifts. She learns the truth about the elite, a secret organisation that has meddled with humanity since the beginning of time. The elite use entertainment and the media as a constant distraction to stop people from reaching their true potential. To free themselves of this conditioning, the followers must give up ‘excessive’ food and sleep. They also carry out increasingly bizarre rituals under the critical eye of the Captain, a minor leader of the new followers. He seems to take pleasure from turning them against one another.

Tensions increase. The followers gain odd new abilities, but bullying and hysteria also grow. Meanwhile Myra’s prophecies become increasingly extreme. As paranoia intensifies, Deirdre questions where the belief ends, and delusion begins. 

Hi and welcome to my stop on G J Morgan’s His American Classic blog tour!

With thanks to G J Morgan and to Kelly @ Love Books Group Tours

1: Myself and my book

Hello! My name is Gareth John Morgan, though everyone calls me Morgan. I was born in 1981 on an estate that had more children than parents. I have blue eyes and great hair. When I was two I fell down the stairs and split my lip open. I have tried being Vegan twice but failed (though I’m kinda half Vegan now). I am a qualified Chef. I also did a 2-year course in Fashion Design. I have a wife, two children and five tattoos. I am thirty-seven but can still turn heads. I love going gym but also love Nutella. I love great films and shit TV. When I was five I was circumcised. My hair is blond and I dye it blonder. I work in Finance but have never really understood how or why. I’ve never been in a fight, never had my heart broken, only had one sexual partner. I don’t actually enjoy writing, but I can’t stop doing it.

The novels…

“It’s the story of Lilly. A famous young actress struggling with life in LA, decides to run away across the Atlantic to a quiet seaside town in Devon.

And then there’s Tom. A Hollywood tour guide and a young father, struggling at both. He wishes he could escape too but can’t. That is till he reluctantly becomes Paparazzi. His first job being to find Lilly.

What comes next is a summer neither Lilly or Tom will forget.

Part one is “His American Classic”. Part two is “Her American Classic.”

Its themes are the intimate relationship between celebrity and Paparazzi, old glamour meets new, and tragedy and vulnerability and the weight of expectation and love and loss and hearts breaking and hearts being fixed. I’ve essentially written a book to make girls cry and laugh and weep and sigh. Also, not intentionally but its themes are quite the hot topic right now with the Weinstein, Me too and Times up movement. As it’s all about a male dominated profession and abuse of power.

Think “Dirty Dancing” meets “The Notebook”. A bit “John Green” a bit “E Lockhart”.

2. Ideas

The inspiration behind the current novels was in-fact Michael Jackson and a consummation actually. It’s probably best I start at the beginning (brace yourself as it isn’t short).

Me and my wife got married on 20th June 2009 and about half way through the honeymoon we found ourselves in a basic but beautiful little island on Fiji, where the bungalows overlooked the Pacific and the residents looked after the food and entertainment. One night after a standard supper of card games and sunsets we both found ourselves the next morning with dodgy tummies which we initially blamed on tinned lamb tongues and bad wine. However, whilst my discomfort lasted an hour on the toilet, my wife’s stomach ache lasted a lot longer. Later my wife returned from the bathroom and held out a pregnancy stick and a nervous smile on her face. I was going to be a father.

If I’m being honest despite being overjoyed, it kind of tarnished the rest of the honeymoon. My wife’s stomach aches and nausea did not subside and in fact worsened very quickly (we later found out she suffers from Hyperemesis Gravidarum- basically means being sick for the whole pregnancy). Being so remote and far away felt a vulnerable situation, we had no internet, no doctors and two flights across the world still to go. In truth home was the only thing on our minds and not being there felt a risk to both my wife and unborn child.

In LA, a few days before the end of our trip, despite my wife feeling awful we decided to make the best of a bad situation and went on a Hollywood celebrity tour. The tour guide was brilliant, showed us the sights you’d expect, but showed us much more, jokes and little facts that felt just for us.

But there were two things we did that day that stuck with me, the first was just a throw a comment from our guide, something about how if you hang about in the right parks or restaurants and if you do your homework you can actually meet a celebrity quite easy, get a photo, get an autograph, get to touch them even. And the second was Michael Jacksons house.

Michael Jackson died on June 25th, so when our guide took us to his mansion, it was already filled with flowers and memorials and fans paying their respects, not to mention news trucks and the media. It was chaos and it was sad and as we took photos I felt both happy to capture it (being a big fan), but angry at myself for being part of the intrusion.

Later that evening, my wife went to bed early and I wrote the prologue to “His American Classic” on hotel paper (which I still have somewhere). There was no research, not even an idea as such. Just things fizzing in my head, celebrity, fame, invasion of privacy, fatherhood, my pregnant wife. Thought it was a story worth telling, though it was a story that stayed in a pile of other stories for several years. Till a house move and a kick up the arse later I finally dug it out and gave it a go.

I suppose you could say ideas just come up based on circumstance and situation. I don’t really go looking for them and don’t freak out when they don’t.

3. Characters based on real people.

Not so much characters as such. More phrases or mannerisms or traits. For example, in my novel Tom’s mother is a combination of lots of mothers I’ve met. I pick and choose based on what works best.

Though it does mean every friend or family member thinks they are someone in my book, which most likely they are.

4. Picking names.

I choose names too quickly and probably should think them through more than I do. I tend to avoid similar sounding names, so most characters all have a different starting letter. I also stole an idea from the late and great Roald Dahl who once said that a surname can make a character. If you look at any hero and villain in his books they tend to follow a theme. For example, if you think of the baddies in any Roald Dahl novel (Miss Trunchball, Slugworth, Aunt Spiker, Mr Wormwood) they allow you to dislike them even before you’ve met them.

By giving the right surname it immediately does all the hard work for you. Hence why in my novel I have characters like Lilly Goodridge and Max Salter. I’m sure you can figure out whose good and whose bad.

5. Writing Process.

My first failed novel I did things very different. Plotted out every character, every chapter, middle and end. I assumed that was what successful authors did. But I found I spent more time plotting than writing and felt when I actually had to write it I was bored of it already and felt like writing by numbers. Now I write with a rough idea how to start it, maybe a middle If I’m lucky, no clue of the end. I would not recommend it to anyone, but it means you get to enjoy the character and story like a reader would, get excited when you get it right or cry when you decide you need to rewrite the whole of Chapter 49 and parts of Chapter 6-17 and maybe even the whole beginning.

The time I write has changed over the years, not too early as I’m sleepy and not too late as I’m tired. Or meal times as I’m hungry. I’m kinda ruled by working full time and school runs, so tends to be at the end of the day when I’m just as tired as the rest of the house.

I told myself I’d write an hour a day, no matter how bad or good the writing was. Hence why writing novels has taken me so long, I could blame everyone else, but it probably had more to do with the fact I kept changing the ending and planning front covers to a novel I hadn’t yet finished.

My Dining Room is where I actually write, more by default than by preference. My whole life I’d dreamed of my own nook or hideaway, full of clippings and inspirational quotes pinned to notice boards, a thinking sofa, a dog sat under my bureau keeping my feet warm, even a winter lodge, or villa overlooking a lake or ocean, but it had never quite happened. The table is second hand and the chair make’s my arse sore, doesn’t have a radiator or double glazing, not even a dog. Maybe the novels would be very different if I’d written them where I wished I could. Maybe that is the trick, write in a cold room with nothing but discomfort and pain. Means you have little choice but to dream up somewhere with a more pleasurable view.

6. Top 5 authors

Too hard. Be like picking a favourite child (which weirdly is easy as I only have two and like one slightly more than the other).

My tastes range from clever to crass and like food I go to them to for different reasons. Some I admire based on how ambitious and unique they are (White Teeth by Zadie Smith). Some I like the way they sound, but not so much their story (If nobody speaks of remarkable things by Jon McGregor). Some I like because they take me somewhere different (The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt) and some I’ve read more than twice as I wasn’t intelligent enough to grasp it first time around (The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger). Some because how they impact my senses (Perfume by Patrick Suskind). Some are nostalgic purely based on when and where I first read them (Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden). Some I read as they make me look cool on trains (Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski). Some I just like their front covers.

Though I would have to say it’s probably “Bridges of Madison County” by Robert James Waller which may sound an odd choice. I am fascinated by novellas and what an author can do to in just 30,000 words. I like them because they have no choice but to leave out filler. Every word and every chapter have to have a purpose.

It’s funny. The older I get the less I feel the need for an author to spend a page describing someone’s bad morning when just an F word will do. Although I say all this when “His American Classic” was so big I decided to split it into two, hence why there is a “Hers”. Don’t worry my next novel will be short, or maybe it won’t be knowing me.

7. What author would I like to meet and what would I ask him?

Hunter S Thompson. And I’d ask him everything.

8. Big reader as a child.

Not particularly. But my Mum had a pretty big book shelf (mostly horror and American classics) and I would always pick a book out and flick through it, especially the ones I shouldn’t be flicking through, in hope I might find a swear word or a sex scene.

No matter how much my wife nags at me I will never get rid of my book case at home. Having books on show encourages children to investigate. And even if they don’t understand or can’t read all the words it still gets them intrigued. Hence why I’ve never read a book on a kindle or tablet and probably never will.

9. When did I start to write.

Being creative had always been my thing and at school the only subjects I excelled in where those that didn’t have a right or wrong answer. That was why English and Art and Cooking grades were at the right side of the alphabet and the Maths and Science at the further end. Weird how my full-time job in finance is one filled with right and wrong answers, but there are a lot of creative people out there forced to do the same.

The first time I attempted writing when I was in my late teens, just after my parents divorced (my way of dealing with it I suppose), but it was too big in scope, a family saga, epic in size and scale, a ten-year project, though I eventually realized it was bigger than my capabilities. I’d hit a low, wasted a decade, failed.

Though failing needed to happen. I was trying to be all my favourite authors all in one God awful book. I realized very quickly that I was not as good as my favourite authors and couldn’t write like them and probably never would. And though initially devastated that soon turned to relief. Meant I could start writing like me, or at least try and figure out what me might sound like.

I decided to go back to basics, wrote tiny stories, threw my thesaurus away, stopped plotting future plot twists and instead simply focused on one character with one problem in one room. Cut out all the clever and just wrote words on a page.

Then in 2009 I went on my honeymoon. Two things happened (one a gift and one tragic) and an idea for a novel was born. I was ready. A failed novel in one hand and a fistful of new confidence in the other. What could possibly go wrong?

10. Ending to a book?

I wouldn’t change someone’s ending, even if I may not have agreed with it at first. The best endings should split a room and divide opinion. I know full well, that how I have ended my novel people will either love or hate, which I am fine with, as long as the reader feels something.

11. A Book I wish I had written.

See Question 6.

12. My autobiography title

Morgan by Morgan

13. Coffee Date.

Pi (From Life of Pi). Boat trip. Ha!

14. What am I writing next?

Weirdly after five years of writing a romance novel I wrote a TV series. A kinda gritty manly TV series with swear words and boobs, like my brain and body needed a change of pace and a different volume. Like I’d overdosed on chick flicks and needed some Jason Statham.

I enjoy writing something the opposite of what came before. I’ve never been quite sure how some authors only write horror, or some only YA. I imagine if they get bored or run out of ideas, or whether or not it’s fear that publishers won’t like it, or their fan base will desert them. Do you think authors should stay in one genre? Is Stephen King better writing Shawshank Redemption than Salem’s Lot? What if E. L James wrote a children’s book about a red room?

I do have something I have just started, a novella, just an idea at the minute.

If I’m being honest publishing my first novel has taken its toll emotionally, physically and financially. I feel like a mother whose been pregnant for five years and after given birth, my husband is asking if I fancy having sex again.

15. Celebrate

Celebrate? I wish.

I have realised very quickly that writing was the easy bit. It has been manic the last six months and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, in fact it is getting faster.

The tiny celebrations tend to come from hearing people’s reviews, the photos they send me, the thought that my book is on people’s book shelves. A lady from India is reading it, one in Marbella, one in Sheffield. That is enough for reward for me, little successes.

16. Keep in touch.

Email- morganmorgan1981@yahoo.co.uk

Insta- gjmorganwriter

Twitter- GJMorgan6

18. Anything else

Read my book. Trust me you will love it.

Blurb 

Told from dual perspectives that span two books, this moving and emotionally-driven love story will leave readers breathless and reeling in equal measure.

It begins. Lilly Goodridge always wanted to be an actress, but fame is an unwanted side effect she’s desperate to escape – along with the City of Angels and her enigmatic boyfriend. So she takes a tiny film role across the pond in a quiet seaside town where nobody can find her. Except for Tom. Down on his luck, Tom might not be the greatest tour guide of Hollywood Hills, but he loves living in America, even if America doesn’t quite love him back. With no choice, he takes on a job he never wanted: in search of an actress he doesn’t know, but knows he has to catch. 

Buy Link: 

https://amzn.to/2KOuDbm

Happy Reading 🙂

Interview with Kelly Smith…..

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

I am an active mom of three almost grown boys. Originally from Boston, I relocated to Austin with my then husband about 16 years ago. I began my writing career with my blog on my website www.thoughtsbecomingwords.com. I used to write about fitness, until I got divorced and then into a toxic relationship. My book Signs in the Rearview Mirror began as a weekly series on my blog.

My book is about leaving a toxic relationship behind. But which toxic relationship? The one with my mother, my ex, or myself. ***Spoiler Alert*** it’s all three. But how? How does someone realize they are toxic and get help? It’s all in the book!

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

I got my idea for the book form my own life experiences. After getting away from my toxic relationship, I realized if I wrote my own story, I could possibly help others.

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

Yes. Each character in my book is based on someone I know or have known.

How do you pick your characters names?

Some of the names I found in a baby name book and others sort of choose me.

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

I am a night writer. I wrote my book mostly in the late hours of the night. I listened to music most of the time while I wrote, but the sounds of rushing water was also an inspiration to me.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Jane Green

Dr. Seuss

Jennifer Weiner

Emily Giffin

John Grisham

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

I would love to spend time with Dr Seuss.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Yes and no. I had a rough childhood. I would read and write to try to escape.

When did you start to write?

I discovered I was a writer in the third grade. It took me years to get to a point where I could write on a regular basis.

What are you working on right now?

Currently I am thinking about writing my second book. I am thinking about my second book as a continuation of my first book. But in the this new one, I will take my readers on a journey of my recovery process.

Do you have a new release due?

I wish.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

My publishing day was amazing. The day my book came out was also the day I broke my silence with my abusive relationship. I went to the tattoo place with my friends and had my release date tattooed on my arm. It was amazing!!

How can readers keep in touch with you?

www.thoughtsbecomingwords.com is my website and on my site you can find the links to my social media.

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I would like anyone who is in or getting out of a toxic relationship that there is help on the other side. That if you get the help you need, you can live an amazing life!!!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Kelly.

Signs in the Rearview Mirror: Leaving A Toxic Relationship Behind

What kind of person ends up in a toxic relationship? And why does she stay? This searingly honest novel answers both those questions head-on. Coming out of a failing marriage, Kelly turns to Gabe out of fear of being alone. Her gradual slide into danger is at once terrifying and inevitable, and the steps she takes to get out of it will both inspire and offer hope.

Purchase Links…..

Amazon UK –

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Signs-Rearview-Mirror-Leaving-Relationship/dp/1948613018/

Amazon US –

https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Rearview-Mirror-Leaving-Relationship/dp/1948613018/

Author Bio –

Boston born and raised, Kelly now makes her home in Austin with her three sons and one amazing Giant Schnauzer Bullseye. Kelly has written for Huffington Post, blogs at Thoughts Becoming Words, and hosts a podcast, Lets Get Wicked Deep.

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/kellye95/

https://twitter.com/kellys_author

Check out the rest of the blog tour for reviews, and more, with these awesome book bloggers…..

Enjoy!