Tuesday Talk welcomes Blogger Susan Corcoran chatting about Favourite Authors and a difficult decision over Celebrity Dinner Guests…

Good morning Susan and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?
Hi Jo, I’m what I would call a part time book blogger and a full time medical administrator with the local health board in Cardiff. I’ve been a passionate reader since I was a child and books have been my cwtches since that point. Other than reading, I love going to the theatre and pottering in my garden.

How long has your blog been running and what made you decide to start one?
My blog has been running since April this year. I started it because I needed a challenge outside of work. Books have always been a way to relax and I wanted to share my love of reading with others, while waking up a few sleepy brain cells at the same time. I didn’t really know that book bloggers existed until I joined an on-line book club and having read some amazing blogs wanted to give it a try.

Who are your favourite authors?
That is a difficult one to narrow down! I would say that Ben Aaaronvitch is a current favourite, his PC Grant book series is a must read for me. Robert Galbraith would have to be another, Cormoran Strike is the perfect detective, brooding, flawed and yet he has a strong moral aspect to his character. Tracy Chevalier writes perfect historical novels where characterisation is more important than drama. Deborah Harkness writes novels than manage to combine fantasy, contemporary drama and historical adventures, what more could a reader want. I know Madeline Miller has only written one novel, A Song for Achilles, but I will love her forever for bringing that book into my life.

If you decided to become a writer, what genre would you choose and why?
If I decided to become a writer, I think I would have to write fantasy. I love the freedom it gives you to explore worlds that only exist in your imagination. If you can imagine it, you can write it and the possibilities are endless.

Where’s your favourite chill out place?
That would have to be my garden if the weather is good or my bedroom, because these are the places I love to read.

And lastly, you’re inviting four celebrity guests to dinner. Who would they be and why?
My first guest would have to be John Partridge, West End Actor and former East Enders star. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him a few times. He never fails to make those around him feel they’re the centre of his world in that moment. He has an amazing sense of humour and gives the best cwtches.
My second guest would be J K Rowling. I love her passion of equality and fairness. Her tweets are fearless and her intelligence shines out.
Marc Elliott is another actor who has graced the West End stage and our TV screens. His sense of humour is naughty and dark and having acted with John Partridge on East Enders, they could regal us all with tales of a theatrical nature.
I’m struggling between the lovely Sue Perkins because she makes me laugh and the superb Tom Hiddleston, who portrayed the perfect Loki on screen as my last guest. If I’m to keep the balance between female and male guests, it would have to be Sue Perkins, but I would probably just squeeze an extra place setting around the table!