I’m very pleased to welcome Charlie Laidlaw to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell me about his second novel The Things We Learn When We’re Dead which is a modern fairytale of love and loss.

Published by Accent Press, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

The Things We Learn When We’re Dead

On the way home from a dinner party she didn’t want to attend, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions.

It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN. Because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident. Or does God have a higher purpose after all?

At first Lorna can remember nothing. As her memories return – some good, some bad – she realises that she has decisions to make and that she needs to find a way home…

An Interview with Charlie Laidlaw

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Charlie. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and The Things We Learn When We’re Dead in particular. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m the author of two novels, The Herbal Detective (Ringwood Publishing) and The Things We Learn When We’re Dead (Accent Press). A third novel, Darker Matters, is due to be published by Accent Press in January 2018.

I was born and brought up in the west of Scotland, which really wasn’t my fault, and am a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. I then worked briefly as a street actor, baby photographer, puppeteer and restaurant dogsbody before becoming a journalist. I started in Glasgow and ended up in London.

Surprisingly, I was approached by a government agency to work in intelligence, which just shows how shoddy government recruitment was back then. However, it turned out to be very boring and, craving excitement and adventure, I ended up as a PR consultant, which is the fate of all journalists who haven’t won a Pulitzer Prize, and which is what I’m still doing.

I am married with two grown-up children and live in East Lothian. And that’s about it.

(I think that sounds like a very eclectic CV!)

Why do you write?

Partly, it’s a compulsion; partly, it’s simple recognition that I’m pretty useless at everything else. I also believe that, whatever you’re good at, you should pursue it. It’s a kind of duty on all of us. Be the best at what you’re good at.

When did you realise you were going to be a writer?

I’ve always been a writer, if not a published author until recently. But I still don’t consider myself to be a proper author, because my main source of income still lies elsewhere.

(I think with three books under you’re belt you’re definitely a writer Charlie!)

Which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

Getting started! I’m a great procrastinator and will always find all sorts of excuses not to write. I suppose that writing is always time spent when you should be doing something else. However, once I do start writing, my brain usually slips into a creative gear, and the words tend to flow – sometimes in the right order.

Once you get started, what are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

I write in a home-office. But that’s just to get words typed. The creative side of deciding what gets written can be thought through on a bus, or train, or car. I now only write when I have a clear idea of how that paragraph or chapter will fit into the overall narrative. I’ve very jealous of those writers who can produce a novel every few months. In a future life, I will come back as Barbara Cartland.

Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about The Things We Learn When We’re Dead?

It’s a retelling of a universal and recurring story; how you can have second chances in life and, in doing so, look back at your life and find a new beginning. More prosaically, it’s the life story of a young woman who is complex and feisty, but who is also a little damaged. The book tells her story and how she glues back her constituent parts – and, I suppose, finally grows up.

The Things We Learn When We’re Dead takes its inspiration from The Wizard of Oz. Why this book in particular?

The Wizard of Oz is all about second chances and many, many authors have written the same kind of story, before and after. It is a story that resonates because we all do silly things, or lose our way. The premise within The Wizard of Oz is that a second chance can be just around the corner.

The idea for the book came to me on a train from Edinburgh to London, which is apt because Edinburgh is a civilised place and the only city in the world to have named its main railway station after a book. So powerful was the original idea that, when I got home, I write the first chapter and the last chapter. I therefore knew where the book started, and where it would end. The first chapter has changed a bit; the last chapter is almost the same.

However, having dreamed up an unfamiliar version of a familiar theme, I had a choice: either to recognise that it was loosely The Wizard of Oz, or ignore it. I decided to embrace it because, I figured, it’s a story that everyone likes!

You’re inverting the familiar in The Things We Learn When We’re Dead. What do you hope readers will get from this effect?

Everything in the known universe has been written about many times. Even Shakespeare used older sources such as Chaucer for inspiration, and even further back to Roman writers. So, as far as I’m concerned, nothing literary under the sun can be thought of as truly original. Love, sex, marriage, war, peace, betrayal…you name it, it’s all been done to death.

My approach is therefore to take a familiar theme, and give it originality. In my book, the reader will understand the overall familiarity and tradition of the narrative and why the central character, Lorna Love, will be given her second chance. It does therefore fulfil familiar expectations, using an oblique construct to provide a new perspective on a well-worn theme.

But it also makes the familiar unfamiliar, and therefore makes the readers’ journey worthwhile. That is the best that any author can hope for.

You also explore the concepts of utopia and dystopia in The Things We Learn When We’re Dead. Which is the most likely outcome for us in today’s society do you think?

You’re right, the book does pivot on a balance between utopia and dystopia. That balance was evident in the original Wizard of Oz – the Emerald City might have been paradise, but it was bounded about by evil witches and ruled by a false god.

I suppose it’s a question I address in the book, because it’s also a satire on religion. The book does ask whether the world would be a better place if we all stopped believing in God. It’s not a question I can answer but, in the current state of the world, it’s a question worth asking.

If you could choose to be a character from The Things We Learn When We’re Dead, who would you be and why?

None of them, because becoming one of them seems a bit creepy! I don’t know about other writers, but my characters become real people to me. They tell me what to write, and they tell me if a piece of dialogue isn’t what they would say. So, because they’re sort-of real, I wouldn’t want to take over their lives.

That said, I’d love to peek into what they’ve been up. As the book ends in 2007, I do sometimes wonder what’s happened to them and whether they’re all happy. I’d love to know what life has thrown at them and how they’ve responded.

(You’ll just have to write a sequel to find out!)

If The Things We Learn When We’re Dead became a film, who would you like to play Lorna and why would you choose them?

Part of Lorna’s attraction is that she’s a nobody trying hard to be a somebody. She wants to make something of her life, but isn’t entirely sure how to go about it. In that spirit, I’d like her to be played by an unknown but up-and-coming actress.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

Mostly contemporary literary fiction. Joanne Harris is my favourite author, with the likes of Kate Atkinson not far behind. As a contemporary author, it’s only sensible to read other contemporary authors. I would encourage anybody thinking of writing a book to read anything and everything in their chosen genre. If you don’t read, you can’t write.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that The Things We Learn When We’re Dead should be their next read, what would you say?

Let Jodi Taylor, the best-selling author answer that from her review of it: “Intriguing and compelling…a tale that grips until the very last page.”

Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions Charlie.

About Charlie Laidlaw

Charlie Laidlaw was born in the west of Scotland and is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He has been a national newspaper journalist and worked in defence intelligence. He is married with two grown-up children.

You can follow Charlie on Twitter and visit his website.  You’ll also find him on Facebook.

My enormous thanks to the author Helena Fairfax for a copy of Felicity at the Cross Hotel in return for an honest review. I have been privileged to host Helena on Linda’s Book Bag in the past and you can read her guest post all about fairy tales and trickery here.

Felicity at the Cross Hotel is published today 7th July 2017 and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

Felicity at the Cross Hotel

A quaint hotel in the Lake District. The Cross Hotel is the perfect getaway. Or is it?

Felicity Everdene needs a break from the family business. Driving through the Lake District to the Cross Hotel, past the shining lake and the mountains, everything seems perfect. But Felicity soon discovers all is not well at the Cross Hotel …

Patrick Cross left the village of Emmside years ago never intending to return, but his father has left him the family’s hotel in his will, and now he’s forced to come back. With a missing barmaid, a grumpy chef, and the hotel losing money, the arrival of Felicity Everdene from the notorious Everdene family only adds to Patrick’s troubles.

With so much to overcome, can Felicity and Patrick bring happiness to the Cross Hotel … and find happiness for themselves?

My Review of Felicity at the Cross Hotel

Coming from the Everdene family international hotel chain, Fliss’s arrival at The Cross Hotel in the Lake District is viewed by many with suspicion.

What a lovely, lovely story Felicity at the Cross Hotel is. It’s so well written that it feels effortless to read, but that isn’t to say it feels frivolous and insubstantial. There are some weighty themes behind what it a gorgeous, gentle romance. Helena Fairfax explores parental relationships, grief, friendship, guilt, rivalry and our treatment of those who are different, as natural parts of her story so that there is much to ponder as well as to entertain. I thought her writing was very skilled.

The characterisation works brilliantly. I loved the concept of Felicity as one who lives up to her name by spreading happiness. The attraction between her and Patrick is naturally and convincingly displayed so that I was desperate for them to have a happy ever after ending – you’ll have to read Felicity at the Cross Hotel to find out if that happens! Unlike other similar romances, this doesn’t just focus on two people with a cardboard cut out supporting cast. All those in the story felt real and genuine to me; even Agnetha the car.

Similarly, I loved the depiction of the Lake District with its capricious weather, lowering lakes and changeable skies. I felt truly transported to the setting so that I could imagine staying at the Cross Hotel.

I thoroughly enjoyed Felicity at the Cross Hotel. It had exactly the right tone, depth and level of sophistication to transport me to another place with other people. I loved it. Felicity at the Cross Hotel is an ideal summer read that I recommend wholeheartedly.

About Helena Fairfax

Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Her first novel, The Silk Romance, was a contender for the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme Award and a runner-up in the Global Ebook Awards. The Scottish Diamond was a finalist in the I Heart Indie Awards. Helena Fairfax was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize in 2014.

When not writing, Helena walks the Yorkshire moors near her home every day with her rescue dog, finding the romantic landscape the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.

All of Helena’s lovely books can be found here.

You can find out more about Helena by visiting her website, finding her on Facebook, or following her on Twitter.

I’m delighted to welcome Thorne Moore, author of Shadows, to Linda’s Book Bag today. I adore the atmospheric cover of Shadows and although I haven’t had time to read it yet, I was so pleased when Thorne agreed to come on the blog and tell me a bit about it.

Shadows was published on 14th June 2017 by Endeavour Press and is available for purchase in e-book here.

Shadows

Kate Lawrence can sense the shadow of violent death, past and present.

In her struggle to cope with her unwelcome gift, she has frozen people out of her life. Her marriage is on the rocks, her career is in chaos and she urgently needs to get a grip.

So she decides to start again, by joining her effervescent cousin Sylvia and partner Michael in their mission to restore and revitalise Llys y Garn, an old mansion in the wilds of North Pembrokeshire.

It is certainly a new start, as she takes on Sylvia’s grandiose schemes, but it brings Kate to a place that is thick with the shadows of past deaths.

The house and grounds are full of mysteries that only she can sense, but she is determined to face them down – so determined that she fails to notice that ancient energies are not the only shadows threatening the seemingly idyllic world of Llys y Garn.

The happy equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of Sylvia’s sadistic and manipulative son, Christian – but just how dangerous is he?

Then, once more, Kate senses that a violent death has occurred…

Set in the majestic and magical Welsh countryside, Shadows is a haunting exploration of the dark side of people and landscape.

Unsolved and Unexplained

A Guest Post by Thorne Moore

Kate Lawrence has a psychic gift – or a curse. She is tuned in to the imprint cast by violent death. So she is bound to face problems when she comes to stay with her cousin Sylvia, who has bought a Victorian mansion in Pembrokeshire. Llys y Garn is older than it looks. It has a lot of history, casting a lot of shadows. Who or what cast them? She can’t tell. Between the lines of recorded history are the vast echoing spaces of people and events that have slipped into oblivion. Sometimes they leave hints of mysteries that will never be explained.

Llys y Garn, stands in a deep wooded valley in North Pembrokeshire. It’s a fictional house, but there are plenty like it in the area. The setting is important. Kate is hypersensitive to shadows of the past, but this is a place where you’d have to be totally insensitive to escape them. Many houses hide behind deceptively bland exteriors that belie their age. I know this. My house is a Victorian farm cottage, two up, two down, with a lean-to scullery, onto which a flat-roofed extension had been added back in the 1970s. Nothing to get excited about. It was only when I glanced through a book of old Pembrokeshire houses that I came across my house listed as a former Mediaeval manor, held by Jenkin ap Howell who was slain at Banbury in 1469. Well well. By 1811, it was described as “now but an ordinary farmhouse and bears no marks of its former consequence.”

I may be left without a mansion of consequence, but I am left with the conviction that things will have happened here over the centuries. Probably some bad things. Almost certainly some deaths. An account, hand-written in Welsh by a Victorian vicar, suggests that mediaeval bones had recently been dug up on this property and so it must once have been a churchyard or a site of battle. I’ve come across no other mention of these bones, but I do wonder what I might unearth if I ploughed a little deeper in the garden.

Old properties will have old secrets and naturally, Llys y Garn has them too. It has the façade of a Victorian Gothic mansion, but there’s a Mediaeval hall hidden behind, and a suggestion of a Bronze Age settlement in the grounds. Things have been happening there for generations. As one of the characters points out, “I bet every place as old as this has half a dozen grisly secrets buried away, but no one thinks of looking.” Unfortunately for Kate, at Llys y Garn people do think of looking.

I would not define myself as a crime writer, but I do write about crime and its impact on individuals, families, communities and even places. Not just the crimes that are formally investigated, with clues slipped nearly into place like a jigsaw puzzle, and put to bed with some act of “justice.” Perhaps the crimes that are never solved are more interesting. According to Home Office statistics, something like 20% of reported homicides lead to no identified suspects or any legal action, and that is with all the benefit of modern, scientific investigative tools. How many murders went unresolved in the past? And how many were not even recognised as murders? Over a couple of decades, Harold Shipman killed at least 200 people before anyone thought to question the deaths. We’ll never know what the real total was.

It is tempting, as an author, to delve into historical cold cases and come up with a convincing resolution. In a way, I have done that with my previous books, examining old (fictional) crimes and ultimately resolving them. In Shadows, I do things differently. Old murders are suspected – Kate can feel their imprint – and sometimes more than suspected, because tangible evidence comes to light. But it doesn’t mean they will ever be explained. And it means that some things happening now, under our noses, might never be explained either. Which is intriguing.

(Oo – it certainly is Thorne – can’t wait to read Shadows and find out more.)

About Thorne Moore

Thorne was born in Luton and graduated from Aberystwyth University (history) and from the Open University (Law). She set up a restaurant with her sister but now spends her time writing and making miniature furniture for collectors. She lives in Pembrokeshire, which forms a background for much of her writing, as does Luton. She writes psychological mysteries, or “domestic noir,” and her first novel, A Time For Silence, was published by Honno in 2012. Motherlove and The Unravelling followed, also published by Honno. She has also brought out a book of short stories, Moments of Consequence. She’s a member of the Crime Writers Association.

You can follow Thorne on Twitter @ThorneMoore and visit her website. You can also find Thorne on Facebook.

Having heard so many brilliant things about Tiffany McDaniel’s The Summer That Melted Everything, I’m delighted to welcome Tiffany in interview to Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate the paperback publication of the book.

Published by Scribe in the UK, The Summer That Melted Everything is available for purchase here.

The Summer That Melted Everything

Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to come to the country town of Breathed, Ohio, nobody quite expects that he will turn up. They especially don’t expect him to turn up as a tattered and bruised thirteen-year-old boy.

Fielding, the son of Autopsy, finds the boy outside the courthouse and brings him home, and he is welcomed into the Bliss family. The Blisses believe the boy, who calls himself Sal, is a runaway from a nearby farm town. Then, as a series of strange incidents implicate Sal ― and riled by the feverish heatwave baking the town from the inside out ― there are some around town who start to believe that maybe Sal is exactly who he claims to be.

But whether he’s a traumatised child or the devil incarnate, Sal is certainly one strange fruit: he talks in riddles, his uncanny knowledge and understanding reaches far outside the realm of a normal child ― and ultimately his eerily affecting stories of Heaven, Hell, and earth will mesmerise and enflame the entire town.

Devastatingly beautiful, The Summer That Melted Everything is a captivating story about community, redemption, and the dark places where evil really lies.

An Interview with Tiffany McDaniel

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Tiffany. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and The Summer That Melted Everything in particular. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Linda.  So a little about me…I’m an Ohio poet and novelist.  I love gardening, baking, and creating art whether it’s drawing with charcoal or painting a canvas.  The Summer that Melted Everything is my first published novel.

Why do you write?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid.  Writing is really the first thing I remember doing without being told to do so.  I had an innate desire to write down what was in my head.  I think for most of us writers, we’re born to write.  We can only hope we’re fortunate enough to make a career out of it.

When did you realise you were going to be a writer?

Both of my parents had jobs, hard jobs that made them tired and not a lot of money.  I thought that’s what I would have to do in this world.  Have a job that I hated.  I didn’t get that distinction between a job and a career until I was in middle school.  Writing was so wonderful to me, I didn’t ever think of it as being work.

Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about The Summer That Melted Everything?

The Summer that Melted Everything is about a man who one day puts an invitation in the newspaper, inviting the devil to town.  A boy, claiming to be the devil, answers the invitation, only this boy is not your stereotypical devil of red flesh and horns.  This so-called devil’s arrival coincides with the start of a heat-wave that threatens to destroy the town’s very sanity.  As the summer unfolds, the boy’s presence has tragic consequences on the town and everyone in it.  Who is the real devil?  That is a question The Summer that Melted Everything sets out to answer.

Which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

The easiest is the writing.  The hardest part is getting published.  While The Summer that Melted Everything is my first published novel, it’s actually my fifth or sixth novel written.  I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen, and wouldn’t get a publishing contract until I was twenty-nine for The Summer that Melted Everything.  It was a long eleven-year journey to publication, full of rejection and perseverance.  My writing is dark, and I was often told I was risky to publish, which is something I think female literary fiction writers often encounter in contrast to their male counterparts.  But if I had given up, I wouldn’t be where I am today with a book on the shelf.  So to all the writers out there on the journey to publication, I say, don’t let rejection destroy you.  Let rejection empower you.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

I never outline or plan the story beforehand.  If you plan a story too much, you can domesticate it in a way, and I like to preserve the story’s wild soul.  I also think a lot of creative energy is put into outlining, energy that is better spent in the actual writing of the story.  I like for the story to evolve with each new word and page that I write.  This is just what works best for me.  Each author has what works best for them, and that is the beauty of writing.

In The Summer That Melted Everything you explore the evil that is possible in ordinary people. How far do you think evil is part of the human condition?

With this novel, I really wanted to explore the good and evil within us all, but more than good and evil, I wanted to explore that grey area between the two.  The grey area that I think most of us live in.  We all have the potential to be good, and we all have the potential to be not so good.  We see this in the cast of characters within the novel.  It is how we choose to react to a situation, or to a person, that determines who we are.  In the end, I didn’t want a story that was out of reach.  I wanted a story that we could all identify with on some level, certainly on the level on which our human condition is crafted.

The Summer That Melted Everything has been described as allegorical. How far was this a conscious element and how far a natural part of your writing?

I’d say it’s just how I am as a writer.  I think every author is born with a particular tool set, and we use these tools to write the story to the best of our ability.  There are elements to my writing that will be present in all my books.  I’d say the allegorical and symbolic elements will always be one of the traits of my storytelling.

Heat is an integral part of your book. How did you ensure this iterative image melded seamlessly into your writing

I wanted the heat to feel like its own character.  And because weather isn’t a character that you often get to elaborate upon, I found writing about the heat to be one of the most interesting parts of writing this story.  The heat was a character that developed even more as the other characters developed around it.  The heat was always there, woven in ways that was a good exercise for the writing muscle.

You have had many accolades for The Summer That Melted Everything, including The Guardian’s 2016 ‘Not-the-Booker’ Prize. How does this make you feel?

It’s always wonderful when your work is recognized, and it certainly reassures the publisher and those who put stock in your writing, but it’s important to not let these things go to your head.  All you can hope to do as a writer is to write the characters’ truths to the best of your ability, and hope that the readers enjoy it.

If you could choose to be a character from The Summer That Melted Everything, who would you be and why?

Perhaps Sal.  Sal is the one who comes to answer the invitation inviting the devil.  Sal is a mystery, even to me.  Is he, or isn’t he, the devil?

If The Summer That Melted Everything became a film, who would you like to play Sal and Autopsy and why would you choose them?  

I do hope for the novel to one day be translated to the screen, and I have thought of who I would like to play the characters.  As far as who would play Sal, I think that would probably be a new-comer due to the character’s age of thirteen.  For Autopsy, it’d have to someone who is physically built like him.  Someone tall and thin, lanky in many ways.  I don’t think anyone can replace the images of these characters in my head, but one day I think I’ll see an actor and think that he could at least step into Autopsy’s shoes.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I like reading Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Donna Tartt, Toni Morrison, and the poet James Wright, who is from my land of Ohio.  I don’t have any one particular genre I read, or don’t read.  As long as it’s a good story, it’s worth turning the page for.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that The Summer That Melted Everything should be their next read, what would you say?

Fifteen words?  Let’s see…how about I say what Shelf Awareness said about the novel.  It’s exactly fifteen words:

“The Summer that Melted Everything swells with the darkness that lurks in the human heart.”

And so, perhaps that will be enough to persuade a reader to take a chance on one summer that does indeed melt everything.

Thank you so much for your time, Tiffany, in answering my questions.

About Tiffany McDaniel

Tiffany McDaniel is an Ohio native whose writing is inspired by the rolling hills and buckeye woods of the land she knows. Also a poet and artist, she is the winner of The Guardian’s 2016 “Not-the-Booker Prize” for her debut novel, The Summer that Melted Everything. The novel was also a Goodreads Choice Award double nominee in both fiction and debut categories, is a current nominee for the Lillian Smith Book Award, and a finalist for the Ohioana Literary Award and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award for Outstanding Debut.

You can find out more about Tiffany and The Summer That Melted Everything on her website.

I’m lucky to be a member of Legend 100 with Legend Press and so I get to find out all about, and read, a range of brilliant new books from this publisher. Today, however, I’m delighted to be going back in time with Legend and revisiting some fabulous classics that they have just released with stunning new covers.

The first seven titles were launched on 1st June 2017, with further titles to be released in an expanded list in 2018 and 2019. The first collection comprises: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Railway Children by E Nesbit and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

You’ll find more details about these classics and buy links here.

Not only am I reviewing two of the seven in the series, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, but I was lucky enough to be able to interview Legend Press’s MD Tom Chalmers all about the series.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the wild Dartmouth Moors with the footprints of a giant hound nearby and the murder is blamed on a family curse. It is left to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve the mystery of the legend of the supernatural and gruesome hound before Sir Charles’s heir comes to similarly painful end.

Widely considered the finest Sherlock Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles has become the defining book of the great detective and millions have read with enjoyment and horror the story of Holmes, Watson and the infamous hound.

The Importance of Being Ernest

The final comic or dramatic work from undisputed genius Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is his most enduring popular play and a must-read for any Wilde fan.

A farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personæ to escape burdensome social obligations, the play is an unforgettable satire of Victorian ways.

Wilde’s notoriety caused the play, despite its early success, to be closed after 86 performances. This latest edition allows you to discover or enjoy once again the writing of one of history’s great comedy and drama writers.

My Review of Legend Classics

I’m not going to say anything much about the stories themselves in The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Importance of Being Ernest because everyone knows them well, although I have to admit I hadn’t actually read the play script of The Importance of Being Ernest before and I found it just as funny on the page as I have on the screen.

What I do want to comment on is the lovely quality of these books. Both books have absolutely stunning colours that are vibrant and eye catching so that they would grace any bookshelf. The flyleaf of each has an evocative pen and ink drawing that relates to the story and there are potted and accessible biographies of the authors.

The books are printed on cream paper with print that I found perfect for someone like me with sight difficulties, making them comfortable to read. I really liked the way in which there is no blurb in the conventional sense – as I say, we all know the stories – but just a couple of brief quotations on the back covers that convey the essence of the stories.

I think these editions of well loved stories will make perfect gifts for those adults who already know them well and for a whole generation of new readers. I recommend getting them all!

An Interview with MD Tom Chalmers

Thanks so much for agreeing to tell me more about this exciting series Tom. I normally associate Legend Press with a wide range of new authors. What made you decide to return to these famous classics?

We ran a promotion several years ago with Virgin Trains, giving away books across their stations, called ‘Lose Yourself in a Book’. Then last year we discussed how books have always been a great escape and came up with the idea of beautifully repackaging some of the modern classics and bringing them to readers for the first time or to enjoy them once again.

The series begins with seven quite eclectic books. Why this particular selection?

We researched the market to find books that haven’t recently been included in mainstream classic series or some that may have been overlooked – for instance there are hundreds of editions of The Portrait of Dorian Gray but far fewer of The Importance of Being Ernest. It was originally going to be adult fiction only but as we came across some classic children’s novels we couldn’t help but include them in as well to give the series as diverse range as possible.

You’re marketing the books as recapturing an exciting nostalgia. However, the cover images are very modern and almost impressionistic. How do you reconcile modernity and nostalgia?

Nostalgia may be remembering the past but it is a feeling in the present and we felt passionately that these books would be as enjoyable and rewarding to today’s reader as they would for a reader at any moment since they were originally published. We therefore wanted to give a modern feel to a classic book to emphasise its timeless nature as well as its appeal and relevance today.

How did you come to work with Anna Morrison on the cover designs?

Anna is a fantastic designer and she has designed the covers of a number of our recent novels and we have been delighted with what she has produced. We were therefore really pleased that she produced the covers for this series and believe she has done a fantastic job – in fact the stunning books currently have pride of place across our office bookshelves!

You’re having a big high street campaign. Where can readers buy these books?

They full series is currently being promoted by WHSmith at their travel branches – with travellers looking for a book to lose themselves in on their journey we thought it would be a perfect fit for the fantastic books. They are also available widely at other outlets and online.

What plans have you to extend the series in the future?

We are delighted with the initial reaction to Legend Classics and already plans are underway to extend the series next year, possibly to ten books. No doubt there will be a long debate over the selection but with so many fantastic modern classic novels, some of which haven’t been included in recent classic series, we are looking forward to bringing many more to today’s reader.

I wish you every success with these Legend Classics – I think they are collectables for the future.

About Legend Press

Legend Press is an independent publishing company set-up in 2005 by then 25-year-old Tom Chalmers and has been shortlisted for numerous awards. Backed by an international sales, licensing and acquisitions network, it now publishes around 30 titles per year focused on literary, women’s, historical and crime fiction.

You an find out more on the Legend Press website, on Facebook and by following them on Twitter.

You can find out more about this exciting new series with these other bloggers too:

Having been a fan of Lesley Pearse’s writing since she began I’m delighted to be helping celebrate her 25th novel, The Woman in the Wood, with a fact from Lesley about another of her books, the twentieth, The Promise which was published in 2012.

The Woman in the Wood was published by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin, on 29th June 2017 and is available for purchase here.

You’ll find all of Lesley’s books here.

The Woman in the Wood

Fifteen-year-old twins Maisy and Duncan Mitcham have always had each other. Until the fateful day in the wood . . .

One night in 1960, the twins awake to find their father pulling their screaming mother from the house. She is to be committed to an asylum. It is, so their father insists, for her own good.

It’s not long before they, too, are removed from their London home and sent to Nightingales – a large house deep in the New Forest countryside – to be watched over by their cold-hearted grandmother, Mrs Mitcham. Though they feel abandoned and unloved, at least here they have something they never had before – freedom.

The twins are left to their own devices, to explore, find new friends and first romances. That is until the day that Duncan doesn’t come back for dinner. Nor does he return the next day. Or the one after that.

When the bodies of other young boys are discovered in the surrounding area the police appear to give up hope of finding Duncan alive. With Mrs Mitcham showing little interest in her grandson’s disappearance, it is up to Maisy to discover the truth. And she knows just where to start. The woman who lives alone in the wood about whom so many rumours abound. A woman named Grace Deville.

The Woman in the Wood is a powerful, passionate and sinister tale of a young woman’s courage, friendship and determination from one of the world’s favourite storytellers.

Fact 20 in the #25in25 celebrations with Lesley Pearse

Lesley tells us fact 20 about book 20, The Promise:

This is the sequel to Belle, and it finds our heroine a married, hat shop owner. WW1 breaks out and she volunteers to become an ambulance driver in France.

About Lesley Pearse

Lesley Pearse was told as a child that she had too much imagination for her own good. When she grew up she worked her way through many jobs – from corsetry sales in Cooks of St. Pauls (featured in Dead to Me), to bunny girl to nanny; from gift shop owner to dressmaker – finally finding her true vocation when she became a published author age 49. Since then Lesley has become an internationally bestselling author, with over 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

A true storyteller and a master of gripping storylines, there is no set formula for a Lesley Pearse novel although strong heroines and difficult circumstances are pervasive. Whether historical adventures such as Gypsy or Never Look Back or the passionately emotive Trust Me, Lesley is inspired by stories of courage and adversity and often gives voice to women lost in history. She is passionate about her research and her stories have taken her far and wide; from Alaska to the Crimea. Lesley now lives just outside Torquay in Devon where she loves to spend time walking on the beach with her grandchildren and dogs.

A fantastic speaker and committed and passionate fundraiser for the NSPCC, Lesley is a much sought after guest at literary lunches, library events and festivals up and down the country. Lesley was also selected as the first Ambassador for National Libraries Day in 2014.

You can follow Lesley on Twitter, and find her on Facebook.

There are more celebrations with these other bloggers too:

It’s such a pleasure to be reviewing Just for the Holidays by Sue Moorcroft and I’m very grateful to Avon books for my copy in exchange for an honest review. Another of Sue’s books, The Christmas Promise, was one of my books of the year in 2016 and you can read my review here.

I’ve also been privileged to host Sue Moorcroft in interview on the blog and here’s where you can read that post and in celebration of Just for the Holidays Sue told me all about her fantasy holiday companions. You can find out what she said here.

Just for the Holidays was published in e-book and paperback by Avon Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, on 18th May 2017 and is available for purchase here.

Just for the Holidays

In theory, nothing could be better than a summer spent basking in the French sun. That is, until you add in three teenagers, two love interests, one divorcing couple, and a very unexpected pregnancy.

Admittedly, this isn’t exactly the relaxing holiday Leah Beaumont was hoping for – but it’s the one she’s got. With her sister Michele’s family falling apart at the seams, it’s up to Leah to pick up the pieces and try to hold them all together.

But with a handsome helicopter pilot staying next door, Leah can’t help but think she might have a few distractions of her own to deal with…

A glorious summer read, for you to devour in one sitting – perfect for fans of Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews and Trisha Ashley.

My Review of Just for the Holidays

With her sister Michele’s family in meltdown, Leah agrees to go with them to France, little realising just what she’s letting herself in for.

Just for the Holidays is a smashing summer read – just right for taking on your own holiday, although I think it should come with a warning. Sue Moorcroft describes food so impeccably that I found myself drooling and hungry for quite a lot of the time I was reading!

Like Leah, I don’t have a lot of time for children and could so readily relate to her feelings and exasperations as the holiday becomes hellish and complicated. There is such a fast paced plot that lurches from one disaster to another I really felt for poor Leah. I thought Leah was a glorious creation because she’s feisty and flawed, enjoying elements of life most stereotypically associated with men such as fast cars, so that Sue Moorcroft injects a pleasing layer of feminism into the romantic elements too. Ronan is the unattainable perfect hero and I found so much to dislike in Michele and Selina, neither of whom gained my sympathy despite their circumstances, that in Just for the Holidays there is a varied cast that will appeal to all readers.

However, what struck me most about Just for the Holidays was the quality of Sue Moorcroft’s writing. She has created three teenagers in Natasha, Jordan and Curtis that I know I couldn’t tolerate like Leah has to even though I felt sorry for their circumstances. They were horrendously real to me. The medical, culinary, romantic and sexual scenes were perfectly portrayed with just the right balance of detail and action. I could so easily picture myself in France too because Sue Moorcroft conveys place so convincingly. Whilst this is a romance at heart, Sue Moorcroft does not shy away from big themes too with betrayal, infidelity, finance, careers and parenthood very thoroughly explored to add layers of interest for all readers.

Just for the Holidays is an action packed portrayal of complicated family life with romance and relationships in a wonderful summer read. I really recommend it.

About Sue Moorcroft

Award winning author Sue Moorcroft writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. The Wedding Proposal, Dream a Little Dream and Is This Love? were all nominated for Readers’ Best Romantic Read Awards. Love & Freedom won the Best Romantic Read Award 2011 and Dream a Little Dream was nominated for a RoNA in 2013. Sue’s a Katie Fforde Bursary Award winner, a past vice chair of the RNA and editor of its two anthologies.
The Christmas Promise was a Kindle No.1 Best Seller and held the No.1 slot at Christmas!
Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor.

You can follow Sue on Twitter @SueMoorcroft, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

I’m so pleased to welcome back Julia Roberts, author of Alice in Theatreland to Linda’s Book Bag today. Julia has previously provided a lovely guest piece on how she came to writing here, and I have been fortunate to read and review two of Julia’s other works, Life’s A Beach and Then… which I reviewed here as well as Time for a Short Story, reviewed here.

Today I have a lovely giveaway for a lucky UK reader to win a paperback copy of Alice in Theatreland. Not only that, but Julia has told me all about writing what she knows for Alice in Theatreland and it makes for fascinating reading!

Alice in Theatreland is available for purchase here.

Alice in Theatreland

It’s 1976; a summer of soaring temperatures and the year nineteen-year-old Alice Abbott’s life changed irrevocably…

Alice’s childhood dream of seeing her name up in lights seems close to fulfilment when she attends an audition for a new West End show but first she must impress theatre impresario, Richard, a man with an unhealthy penchant for innocent young dancers.

Befriended by Gina, an experienced dancer who is determined to protect her new friend from the sleaze behind the glamour, and attracting attention from the male lead in the show, Peter, a former pop star who she’s had a crush on for years, Alice’s star seems to be ascending until she accepts Richard’s impromptu dinner invitation.

Alice’s apparent naivety places her in peril, but is she really as innocent as she appears, and just how far will Richard go to protect his guilty secret?

Writing What You Know

A Guest Post by Julia Roberts

Thanks very much, Linda, for inviting me on to your blog as part of the tour for Alice in Theatreland. The book is set in the West End of London in the mid 1970’s and I have been asked how much research I had to do on the era and the world of the professional dancer. The answer is, ‘not a lot really’ – let me explain.

I left school in 1972 with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Mentioned several times in the book is The Stage newspaper which I used to take weekly to scan the adverts at the back of the paper for suitable auditions. Young dancers starting out were only able to go for jobs which did not require full membership of the Equity Union. Once you had signed a contract, you could apply for provisional membership but you then had to complete forty weeks of working in the industry before you were issued with your ‘blue’ card.

I was very lucky as I managed to get myself a twenty-week summer season in Guernsey, followed by another twenty-week engagement performing in the pantomime at the City Varieties theatre in Leeds. Most pantos these days are lucky if they have a four or five week run, and even in 1973 it was highly unusual to run for more than ten weeks. We were still performing Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at Easter and occasionally to fewer people in the audience than there were cast members! Although it was a long old slog, I was able to apply for my Full Equity membership in under a year and this widened the field in terms of jobs I could audition for although there were still lots of restrictions, particularly in terms of height. There is a sequence in ‘Alice’ where a girl is turned away from an audition without dancing a step because she couldn’t produce her blue card, as the rule was pretty strictly enforced in those days, and others are turned away for not meeting the height criteria.

When I was writing the audition chapters, I became Alice and all the memories of disappointment and elation came flooding back to me. It is a tough business and you have to grow a thick skin pretty quickly and learn not to take things personally – a bit like writers receiving rejection letters from agents and publishers really. It’s not necessarily that you are not good enough, just not what someone is looking for at that particular time.

At the audition for Theatreland, Alice meets experienced dancer, Gina, who takes Alice under her wing. As the book progressed, I gradually fell in love with Gina. She has had a tough upbringing, with an absent father and drug addict mother, but is a kind-hearted person despite some of her decisions being questionable. Gina is ‘doubling’ which means as well as Theatreland, she is also working as a hostess at a nightclub called the Ostrich. Again, this sequence is based on true life although I was doubling as a dancer rather than a hostess.

I had come back from a second summer in Guernsey in 1977 and was finding living in London a little expensive. I had auditioned and got a job in pantomime in Croydon where, like Alice, I was the understudy for one of the lead roles, although my services were never called on. I then auditioned for a floorshow at a club off Regent Street called The Stork Room… Stork/Ostrich, they say you should write about what you know! This picture is of me and the other girl dancer, Karen, in one of our show costumes. I was twenty-one and it was while I was doing these two jobs that I met my ‘other half’ of over thirty-nine years.

So, as you can tell, quite a lot of the research for Alice in Theatreland was my personal experience although I’m pleased to say that none of the darker elements of the plot ever happened to me. I did have to check on when the date-rape drug, Rohypnol, was first available and also the various methods used to induce a miscarriage… I hope no-one ever checks the ‘history’ on my computer, it would make for very interesting reading.

If you lived through the era and I’ve whet your appetite, Alice in Theatreland is now available in paperback as well as on Kindle. Thanks again, Linda, for hosting me.

My pleasure Julia. What a fascinating insight into the background to Alice in Theatreland.

About Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts’ passion for writing began when, at the age of ten, after winning second prize in a short story-writing competition, she announced that she wanted to write a book. After a small gap of forty-seven years, and a career in the entertainment industry, Julia finally fulfilled her dream in 2013 when her first book, a memoir entitled One Hundred Lengths of the Pool, was published by Preface Publishing. Two weeks later she had the idea for her first novel, Life’s a Beach and Then…, book one in the Liberty Sands Trilogy, which was released in May 2015.

Julia still works full-time as a Presenter for the TV channel QVC, where she has recently celebrated her twenty-third anniversary.

She now lives in Ascot with her partner of thirty-nine years and occasionally one or other of her adult children and their respective cats.

You can follow Julia on Twitter @JuliaRobertsTV and visit her website. You’ll also find her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Giveaway

UK only I’m afraid. For your chance to win a paperback copy of Alice in Theatreland by Julia Roberts, click here. Giveaway closes UK midnight on Sunday 9th July 2017.

Having so loved An Act of Silence by Colette McBeth, my review of which you can read here, I’m thrilled to be starting launch celebrations for such a brilliant book. I have a super extract from An Act of Silence for you to read today.

An Act of Silence was published by Wildfire, an imprint of Headline, on 29th June 2017 and is available for purchase through the links here.

An Act of Silence

These are the facts I collect. My son Gabriel met a woman called Mariela in a bar. She went home with him. They next morning she was found in an allotment. Mariela is dead. Gabriel has been asked to report to Camden Police station in six hours for questioning.

Linda Moscow loves her son; it’s her biological instinct to keep him safe. But if she’s not sure of his innocence, how can she stand by him? Should she go against everything she believes in to protect him? She’s done it before, and the guilt nearly killed her.

Now, the past is catching up with them. As old secrets resurface, Lind is faced with another impossible choice. Only this time, it’s her life on the line…

An Extract from An Act Of Silence

Monday, 17 November 2014

Linda

Say yes.

One word, all he wants to hear.

Yes, I believe you. Yes, I will help you.

That look of his, brimful of need, stirs in me the biological instinct to protect, make safe, put things right.

I am hardwired to give him what he wants. That is love, I suppose.

But here’s a thought: what if I had resisted, left him to deal with his own mistakes, learn his lessons the hard way; would he be the same man, sitting here recounting this story?

The truth is I’ll never know.

We are where we are.

It is early, night is fading but dawn has yet to crack open the day. These are what I call the never hours. Suspended between dark and light when the world’s eyes are firmly shut and only the few night owls and early birds among us get to glimpse secrets unfolding. Five minutes ago I woke with a jolt; a noise, a movement, an overactive imagination tore through my sleep. I descended the stairs, fearful there was a secret waiting for me in the shadows, behind a door or hidden in a cupboard. I reached the kitchen, flicked on the light and his voice shattered the morning silence with a simple request.

‘Milk, one sugar, please.’

The fright found an echo in my heartbeat, galloped through my body. Another break-in, that was my first fear. My second? That it was me they wanted this time, not simply an old laptop. I swung around to match the voice to a face and found him.

I waited for relief to flood me. It didn’t arrive. Instead, my fear was replaced by dread.

It wasn’t him.

He could have been a stranger, this man. The familiar gloss of wealth and success and fame scoured away to reveal a bleaker version, one with a film of dirt thick on his skin, dark oily eyes that hadn’t found sleep in a long time. He was broken, that much was obvious. Something had happened and seeing him like this broke me too.

‘What have you done?’ I asked.

He caught me in a stare. The swell of tears in his eyes quickly rubbed away with the back of his hand.

‘Oh, Gabriel.’ I held my son as tightly as I did when he was a baby. ‘Tell me,’ I said. ‘There’s nothing that can’t be fixed.’

Now we sit at my kitchen table where he used to inhale one, two, three Weetabix as a boy each morning. And he tells me.

A woman.

She is called Mariela. Pretty name. About mid-twenties he thinks but apparently it’s hard to tell these days.

‘Was she your girlfriend?’

‘It was just sex.’

I don’t bite. Gabriel’s casual approach to intimacy has long been the cause of my disapproval. Now is not the time for lectures.

‘I see. And when was this encounter?’

‘Two days ago. Not last night, the night before.’

‘At your house?’

He nods, rolls his eyes at his own stupidity.

‘And then what?’

He covers his mouth with his hand, the words sting as they come out.

‘Then they found her.’

These are the facts I collect.

My son Gabriel met a woman called Mariela in a sushi bar two nights ago. She went home with him where they had sex. The next morning she was found in an allotment.

Mariela is dead.

The allotments back on to his house.

Gabriel has been asked to report to Camden police station in six hours for questioning.

‘You believe me, don’t you?’

‘I . . .’

I’m not fast enough and he can’t slow down now he has started. He races on with his monologue. My mind is stuck, terrified of following him because it knows where this ends.

He wants me to help him. Give him some time to get his head straight. Provide my car, that’s all really, not a lot to ask, and cash too. And if anyone asks if I have seen him, the answer is no. He’s not running away, just giving himself a bit of space.

There’s an intensity to his argument that is impossible to ignore. Wasn’t it always the way? My boy is nothing if not persuasive; one of his many qualities, but dangerous at times too. ‘Someone is trying to frame me,’ he says. I want this to be true but it doesn’t stack up, all I can think of is, Why, why, why would they do that?

‘You’re my mother. You know I couldn’t have done this. And you know how it looks, it’ll be all over the papers by the morning. They’ll be judge and jury and I’ll . . . I’ll be fucked. I’ve never begged you for anything before but I’m begging now.’

His desperation spins out a fierce, kinetic energy that drags me along. He is falling apart and it is agony to witness. I need to hold him together, I have to do something to help. He is right about the press, they’ll crucify him. He won’t be treated fairly. He is well known, a famous face, all the better to sell newspapers. They’ll rake over every detail of his life, cook up a dark side. And my name will be dragged in to damn him further: disgraced politician’s son. He’s in for a public mauling, no doubt, and having been there myself I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, least of all my son.

I have to do the right thing, but it wears many guises and at the moment I can’t tell it apart from wrong.

Time. He’s not the only one who needs time to think. The world has slipped out of sync, sent me freefalling into a terrifying darkness. I close my eyes, praying that when I open them again, order will be restored.

‘Mum, please.’

His words go to my core, to who he is, who I am. He is a baby in my arms again, the midwife handing him to me for the first time, a tiny wet being writhing against my skin. And me, his mother, drunk on fear of the past, hope for the future.

‘Gabriel,’ I said. My very first word to him, to his father. ‘We’ll call him Gabriel, like the angel.’

Yes, I’ll help you. I’m about to give him what he wants

because what else can I do, he’s all I have. He needs me and above everything else I know this: my son is not capable of murder.

But.

I open my eyes and I see it, a red line gouged out of his neck like a warning.

‘What is that?’

He runs his index finger along its trail. Surprised. Hesitates long enough for me to catch the lie that flashes on his face.

‘Oh that. I did it on a branch.’

It is only a scratch but it rips through my belief. It is doubt and fear and dread.

‘Don’t do that,’ he says.

‘What?’

No answer. He’s stopped making sense now.

‘If you haven’t done anything wrong,’ I say, ‘you have nothing to worry about.’

‘If ?’

‘What?’

‘You said, if I haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘Did I?’

‘You think I could have done this?’

About Colette McBeth

Colette McBeth is the critically acclaimed author of psychological thrillers Precious Thing and The Life I Left Behind.

Colette was a BBC TV News television correspondent for ten years, during which time she covered many major crime stories and worked out of Westminster as a political reporter.

She lives on the South Coast with her husband and three children.

You can follow Colette on Twitter, find her on Facebook and visit her website.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’m delighted to be working with Brook Cottage Books in welcoming Suzy Turner to Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate her latest novel Aphrodite’s Closet.

Published on 6th May, Aphrodite’s Closet is available for purchase in e-book on Amazon UK and Amazon US. I’m thrilled to bring you an extract from Aphrodite’s Closet and an interview with Suzy. There’s also a fantastic giveaway run through Brook Cottage Books to win an e-copy of the book and a £20 or $20 Amazon Gift Voucher. You can enter at the bottom of this blog post.

Aphrodite’s Closet

Agatha Trout didn’t even know she had a Great Aunt Petunia, so imagine her surprise when she finds Petunia left her a corner shop in her will. But it’s not just any old corner shop—it’s a corner shop that needs something unique, something the town of Frambleberry has never seen before. Influenced by her confident best friend, Coco, Agatha is soon convinced that there’s only one way to go: an adults-only sex shop.

While some of the townspeople are clutching their pearls in horror, others are open to the new experiences this shop offers. But not everyone in Frambleberry is convinced. Will the women soldier on in the face of violent threats or will their fears get the best of them—and their new venture—before it even gets off the ground?

An Interview with Suzy Turner

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag, Suzy. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and Aphrodite’s Closet in particular. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?

Hi Linda! Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m a British expat living in Portugal for the past 31 years (I was ten when we moved). I live with my husband, Michael, who has also lived here 31 years. I’m a former magazine editor and now full time author/blogger/yoga instructor.

Why do you write?

Usually because I have an idea that won’t leave me alone until I’ve gotten it down on paper!

When did you realise you were going to be a writer?

In my early 20s I was already a writer for a newspaper, but after reading an interview with Jenny Colgan, I was so inspired that I knew I would have to write novels as well.

So, which aspects of your writing do you find easiest and most difficult?

The easiest part is coming up with ideas – my head is always full to bursting with wacky stories. The most difficult (and least fun) is probably the editing process.

What are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?

When I am writing a book, I start typing at 10am, stop at midday and then start again at 1pm until about 4pm. I never write in the evening because I enjoy nights in watching TV with hubby (we’ve literally just binge watched the entire Downton Abbey series and I’m so sad it’s over!). I write wherever is comfortable at the time. The kitchen island, the dining table, on my knee on the sofa. I did have a dedicated office in the summer house but that’s now become my tiny yoga studio.

Although you’re Yorkshire born, you live in Portugal. To what extent do you think location has influenced you as a writer?

I think living in Portugal has had a huge impact on my writing. I think pretty much all of my books do feature Portugal in it to some extent – if not the country, then I usually introduce a Portuguese character. I think it’s also made me more keen to write about travel, which features a lot in my writing.

Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Aphrodite’s Closet?

Aphrodite’s Closet is about a woman named Agatha who inherits a beautiful old building in the fictitious town of Frambleberry and is encouraged by her mad best friend, Coco, to open a sex shop.

Aphrodite’s Closet is clearly chick-lit, but you also write for young adults as well as penning chick lit for the adult market. What are the challenges and benefits in writing in different genres do you think?

I actually don’t think it’s too challenging in my situation, because I tend to write in a similar way in both genres. With the exception of my book, And Then There Was You, I avoid writing anything that wouldn’t be appropriate for a slightly younger audience. Even Aphrodite’s Closet would be okay for 14+ readers. And Then There Was You, however, is not!

(And now I want to read And Then There Was You!)

Of all the possible settings open to you for Aphrodite’s Closet what made you decide on a sex-shop?

I think it’s because many years ago I actually pondered the idea of opening a sex shop myself. I guess it stuck with me all this time! I’ve been wanting to write Aphrodite’s Closet for years but it’s only this year that I finally got down to it. Plus, just think of all the situations that could happen in a sex shop!?

(I’m thinking – maybe I need a lie down now!)

I know you’re a yoga instructor as well as a lifestyle blogger and writer. Can yoga help in the writing process?

It’s funny that you should ask me this because I’m actually in the process of creating yoga classes specifically designed for authors. I’ll be sharing some of them on Youtube over the next few months (as well as creating some for download too). But one of the reasons I became a yoga instructor in the first place is because of the horrendous back pain I used to suffer with. All because I spent so much time sitting down and typing at the computer. I really want to help others ease their pain too – and also to help inspire them using breathing techniques.

(I think bloggers could benefit from those too!)

How did you go about researching detail and ensuring Aphrodite’s Closet was realistic?

When I’m writing I spend a lot of time on Google and Google Earth!! I also use my own travel experiences in my books.

If you could choose to be a character from Aphrodite’s Closet, who would you be and why?

I think it would be fun to be Great Aunt Petunia – although she had died when the book starts, there are scenes that feature her and she was a total hoot!

If Aphrodite’s Closet became a film, who would you like to play Agatha and why would you choose them?

That’s actually a tough question because when I wrote it, I don’t think I had  anyone specific in mind. I guess I’d like to see someone like Emilia Clarke (from Game of Thrones) play the role. It should be someone who can be a plain Jane before revealing herself as a true beauty.

When you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I love reading chick lit – the fun, light-hearted aspect of this genre always leaves me feeling happy and what’s better than that? I also love to read young adult urban fantasy and anything about the power of positivity.

Finally Suzy, if you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Aphrodite’s Closet should be their next read, what would you say?

If you loved the humour and pathos of Bridget Jones, then you’ll love Aphrodite’s Closet.

Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions.

My pleasure!

An Extract from Aphrodite’s Closet

“What about wool?” Aggie suggested.

“What about wool?”

“A wool shop?”

“A wool shop?”

“Are you just going to repeat after me all morning?”

Coco shook her head and put her hand on top of Aggie’s. “Aggie, honey. You’re twenty-eight years old, not seventy-eight. Why, oh why would you want to sell wool to all the old biddies of Frambleberry all day long?”

Aggie shrugged, “It wouldn’t be so bad. Some of those old biddies are quite lovely.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot they’re some of your neighbours. You really need to find yourself another house. Living in a bungalow is for retired people,” she mouthed as an old lady walked past and scowled at her.

Coco raised her eyebrows and returned her attention to Aggie.

“Come on, there must be an alternative business opportunity needed in this town. Oh my God. I mean, seriously O-M-G,”

“What? What Coco?”

Coco began to grin at her best friend as she sat up straight. “I’ve got it. It’s bloody brilliant. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier. It’s perfect and it’s a proper money earner, Aggie. There’s potential to earn squillions here. Oh my God…I’m so excited. I could so help with the decor. I’ve got ideas swimming about in my head already. We must get on to suppliers right away. I know a few people who might be able to help, come to think of it. Dickie from Saffron Walden, for example, he owes me a favour. And there’s Selena from Frome. Oh and I must ring Alison, although I think she’s in Edinburgh at the moment. I’ll wait ‘til the weekend. Oh this is going to be so much fun. Drink up, Agg. We need to get going. We’ve got masses to do. Come on, let’s…”

Coco stopped short and stared at her friend. “What?”

Aggie closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head.

“What’s up, honey?”

“Have you listened to yourself? You’re getting so carried away. But there’s just one little something you haven’t mentioned yet.”

“Oh really, what’s that?” Coco replied innocently.

“What kind of shop are you talking about?”

Coco slapped her own forehead and started to chuckle, “Oh right. Sorry…Aggie. You’re going to open the town’s first…sex shop!”

About Suzy Turner

Born in England and raised in Portugal, Suzy lives with her childhood sweetheart Michael, two crazy dogs and a cat.

Shortly after completing her studies, Suzy worked as a trainee journalist for a local newspaper. Her love of writing developed and a few years later she took the job of assistant editor for the region’s largest English language publisher before becoming editor of a monthly lifestyle magazine. Early in 2010 however, Suzy became a full time author. She has since written several books: Raven, December Moon, The Lost Soul(The Raven Saga), Daisy Madigan’s Paradise, The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw, The Temporal Stone, Looking for Lucy Jo, We Stand Against Evil (The Morgan Sisters), Forever Fredless,  And Then There Was You, Stormy Summer and her latest, Aphrodite’s Closet.

In 2015 she launched her popular 40+ lifestyle blog which continues to go from strength to strength, while just over a year later, she trained to become a yoga instructor. Suzy continues to write, blog and teach yoga in one of Portugal’s loveliest settings – the Algarve.

You can follow Suzy on Twitter, find her on Goodreads, Instagram and Facebook and visit her book blog.

Giveaway

For your chance to win an e-copy of the Aphrodite’s Closet PLUS a £20 / $20 Amazon Gift Voucher click here.