I’ve long been a fan of Urbane Publications as they have such an eclectic and rich mix of authors. Today I’m thrilled to welcome one of these authors to stay in with me, Cherry Radford.

If you’re an author who’d also like to stay in with me to tell me about one of your books, please click here for more details.

Staying in with Cherry Radford

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Cherry. Thank you for agreeing to stay in with me. 

Hi Linda, where shall I sit?

(Sit wherever you like. Now we no longer have four cats to shove out of the way there’s plenty of room! Fancy a cuppa?)

Aha. Yes, half a sugar in an Earl Grey please.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it? 

I’ve brought along The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, because it’s new. Lighthouse keepers drank a lot of tea.

(In that case lighthouse keepers would be my kind of people. I drink copious amounts of tea!)

What can we expect from an evening in with The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter?

Beachy Head lighthouse (photo: Juan del Pozo), and the Metropolis, Madrid

Well, lighthouses obviously – you get to go inside three. You’re also going to have romance, but I like to think of it as People Fiction rather than Women’s Fiction, as it has plenty of male viewpoint.

(I love the idea of People Fiction. I’m adopting that genre for my reviews. Thanks Cherry.)

After the breakup of her marriage, Imogen escapes to Beachy Head to be alone and to find out more about her lighthouse keeper father who mysteriously drowned there back in 1982. She starts to see similarities in their lives – especially in the way he was intensely corresponding with a female penfriend, just like she’s Tweeting with Santi, a Spanish actor-musician in Madrid…

(Ooo. I like the sound of that VERY much – and I have a copy of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter on my TBR so I’m going to have to bump it up the pile…)

What else have you brought along and why? 

Imogen gave me some home-made fudge to bring along from the Beachy Head Countryside Centre where she works (and where I volunteered when doing my research!). Mm… have some!

(What do you mean have ‘some‘ fudge? I think you meant to say, ‘Have it all!’ I genuinely think I might kill for fudge – or at least put up a good fight for it!)

Santi has a gig tonight and couldn’t make it, so I’ve brought flamenco guitarist Josemi Carmona with me. My unexpected friendship with him – that all started with me Tweeting to find out where I could buy his new album – was one of the inspirations for the story. I did ask him to show off some of the English I’ve taught him, but he’s in one of his no-no-no, no Engleesh moods. Ah, but he’s picking up his guitar and going to play along with his track on the novel’s Spotify list…

(Here‘s the Spotify link if readers would like to have a listen too.)

Thanks so much for staying in with me Cherry, to introduce The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter. I’ve loved hearing about it (and eating the fudge) and look forward to reading it very soon. 

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter

After the break-up of her marriage, Imogen escapes to her aunt’s converted lighthouse on Beachy Head. Writing for a tedious online magazine but hoping to starting a novel, she wants to be alone – until she finds an entrancing flamenco CD in her borrowed car and contacts the artist via Twitter. It turns out that actor-musician Santiago needs help with English, and is soon calling her profesora.

Through her window, the other lighthouse winks at her across the sea. The one where her father was a keeper, until he mysteriously drowned there in 1982. Her aunt is sending extracts from his diary, and Imogen is intrigued to learn that, like her and Santi, her father had a penfriend.

Meanwhile, despite their differences – Imogen is surrounded by emotional and geographical barriers, Santi surrounded by family and land-locked Madrid – their friendship develops. So, she reads, did her father’s – but shocking revelations cause Imogen to question whether she ever really knew him.

Two stories of communication: the hilarious mistakes, the painful misunderstandings, and the miracle – or tragedy – of finding someone out there with whom you have an unforeseen, irresistible connection.

‘A fresh new voice telling a charming and moving story of love, loss, loneliness, Twitter and Spanish lessons. An absolute delight.’ Bestselling author Louise Douglas

‘A story so full of music it sings. If you love lighthouses, music and all things Spanish this is the book for you. It even has a Spotify playlist at the beginning – a great touch. Radford creates rich and believable characters (I especially love Santi). This is a classy romance, dealing in communication and miscommunication, where the past is deftly woven into to the present. Where there are twists, turns and surprises to keep you guessing and hanging on until the last – and all beautifully produced by Urbane Publications.’ Avril Joy, author of Sometimes A River Song, and Costa Short Story award winner

Published by Urbane Publications, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter is available for purchase here.

About Cherry Radford

Cherry Radford was a keyboard player in a band, a piano teacher at the Royal Ballet School and an optometrist/post-doctoral researcher at Moorfields Eye Hospital before suddenly starting her first novel in the middle of a scientific conference in 2009. Following the publication of Men Dancing (2011) and Flamenco Baby (2013) by a small Brighton-based independent, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter is her first novel with Urbane Publications. Cherry lives in Eastbourne and Almería (Spain).

She chats about writing and other passions on her BLA BLA LAND blog and can be followed on Twitter @CherryRad, Instagram and Facebook and there’s more on her website.