THE SEWING MACHINE

It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again.

Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her.

More than 100 years after his grandmother’s sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents. His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams.

He starts to unpick the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.

MY REVIEW FOR THE SEWING MACHINE

 

I absolutely loved this book.  A multi-layered trio of stories which weave together, all connected to one sewing machine.

These three very different yet connected tales move seamlessly through the book.  It’s cleverly written and well researched.  Although there’s quite a large cast of characters, I had no trouble keeping each story separate and being able to identify who was who.  The book moves in and out of the various timelines as Jean, Connie and Fred’s individual stories are plaited together.  I didn’t find the changes between past and present and back again at all distracting – something I feel was down to the quality of the writing.

The author has created a wonderful array of very real characters.  Beginning in 1911 and ending in 2016, there’s everything here to keep the reader turning the pages – a tale of families, love, heartache, challenges, and some surprising discoveries.   All in all a wonderful debut and worthy of five stars.  I look forward to reading more from Natalie Fergie.

E-book currently available on Amazon –

Amazon.co.uk:http://amzn.eu/4fjGQSL
Amazon.com: http://a.co/cSAoD58

Waterstones Link:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-sewing-machine/natalie-fergie/9781911586043

Paperback to follow.

ABOUT NATALIE FERGIE

Natalie Fergie is a textile enthusiast, and has spent the last ten years running a one-woman dyeing business, sending parcels of unique yarn and thread all over the world. Before this she had a career in nursing. She lives near Edinburgh.

The Singer 99K, which was the inspiration for this novel, has had at least four previous owners.  It was bought for £20 from someone who lived in the Clydebank, just a stone’s throw from the site of the factory where it was made a hundred years earlier.

It’s quite possible that there are another eight sewing machines in her house.

She blogs at http://www.nataliefergie.com and can be found on Twitter at @theyarnyard

 

 

 

 

Good morning Sue and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Morning, Jo. Thanks very much for having me. I suppose it’s true to say that I’m a middle-aged wife and mum. Although, as anyone of my age will tell you, we never really feel like we’ve reached that note-worthy point of middle age! I live on the beautiful Isle of Wight, a move we made as a family six years ago. I have two teenage sons and a 2-year-old standard poodle, called Forrest (named after Mr Gump.) I came to writing quite late in life, but I’m so glad I finally found it, or it found me!

How did your writing journey begin?

Originally, I thought I fancied writing for children. However, I soon discovered that my characters’ choice of vocabulary and my subject matter were far from conducive with kid’s books. I dabbled in short stories when I was younger, but I’d say my writing journey began properly when I attended some Creative Writing courses which were being held locally by the author, Sophie King. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed those two hours a week and soon developed a love of writing. At one of the classes, I wrote a piece of flash fiction about a guardian angel who had been allocated Sue Shepherd to watch over. It was a comedy piece about how disastrous I was, and how all the angels dreaded getting assigned to me. I don’t know why, but I decided to give the angel a human side and described her staff room etc. The group seemed to like the piece, and Sophie suggested I elaborate on the idea. Before I knew it, I was writing a full-blown novel, and very quickly my three main human characters made themselves and their situations known to me. From those humble beginnings, my best-selling novel ‘Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?’ was born.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I’m very nosey. I listen in to people’s conversations and I think, ‘Oh, that’s going in a book.’ Obviously, not word for word! The general situations that people find themselves in fascinate me. I never do a lot of plotting for my books. I prefer to put my characters in a situation and see where they go. My second novel, ‘Love Them and Leave Them.’ is about a split-second decision. It begins with a man driving and he must decide whether to hit a rabbit in the road or swerve. The story then shows his twenty-something daughter six years later, living two very different lives. That story was inspired by a piece I read about a woman who had a car accident when she swerved to avoid a bird in the road and collided with a telegraph pole. Sadly, her life was dramatically changed from that day forward and, as well as feeling terrible for the woman and her family, my main thought was, ‘Gosh, I’ll bet she’d give anything to go back and make that decision again.’ And that’s how my second novel began.

What destination is at the top of your bucket list and why?

I’d say Western Australia, because I went travelling for a year around Australia when I was 24, but I never made it over to the Western side and everyone told me it was “The best bit!”. However, I’m not convinced I could do such a long flight now I’m a … um … middle aged woman! So maybe, I’ll say Iceland, because I’d love to see the Northern Lights.

Have you another book in the pipeline? If so, can you tell us something about it?

I’m on the second draft of my 3rd book. My publisher is also my editor and I’ll soon be sending it to him for his thoughts. Obviously, this is now the third time we’ve done this process and one of the things I love most about it is how invested into the books Ian becomes. By the time we’re on the final, final edits we both know the characters so well, it’s like we’re discussing mutual friends. I can’t tell you what the third book is about, sorry. But I can say, it’s very much in my usual style, hopefully funny in places, but also moving. I like to have something slightly different in my books, for example, angels and parallel lives, and there is a similar element to book three. Mysterious, huh? I enjoy tackling bold subjects, and, thankfully, I’ve been assured I handled them with sensitivity.

Which author would you most like to meet?

I’m a big fan of Marian Keyes. I think it was reading her novels that really helped me to decide on my preferred genre. Along with Sophie King, Marian showed me that it’s possible to write a novel from multiple viewpoints, which I really enjoy. Another thing I love about her books is how she can go from laughter to tears in the space of a page. She has a wonderful warm Irish voice which is captured within her books. However, I think we all need to find our own writing voice and stick to it, so I won’t be attempting any Irish charm of my own. My writing voice has been described as containing a dry wit, and I’m more than happy with that compliment.
One day, I’d love to meet Marian and thank her for being such a great influence. I must say that she does follow me back on Twitter, a fact I’m very proud of.

And lastly, a Desert Island Disc themed question. If you were planning to spend time away from civilization, what four songs would you take with you and why? 

I’m so pleased you asked this question. I recently got interested in desert island discs. My sister told me Marian Keyes was on and I had a listen to her and found her life story very moving. After that, I was totally hooked, and I’ve been listening to loads of back episodes and thinking about what discs I’d choose, so this is a brilliant question to finish on.
1. Do you love me by The Contours. It’s part of the ‘I carried a watermelon’ scene in Dirty Dancing. Oh blimey, when Johnny Castle bursts through that door! The song is just so vibrant and energetic. I heard it in the supermarket recently, it was difficult to stop myself from dropping the basket and dancing!
2. Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer. It reminds me of when my husband and I first met. It was kind of our song. It’s romantic without being vomit inducing.
3. Shut up and Dance by Walk the Moon. It’s got a kind of 80s beat and much like my first choice, I find it energising. My teenage sons even allowed me to play it on repeat in the car for a little while.
4. Fly Me to the Moon by Julie London. My mum used to sing this all the time. My sister and I chose it for her funeral last year and although it did make us sad, it also reminded us of the numerous times throughout our childhood when our mum would sing ‘Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars.’ And our dad, who’s also no longer with us, would shout, ‘I will fly you there, in a bloody minute, if you don’t stop singing that song!’

 

MORE ABOUT SUE:

Sue Shepherd writes contemporary romance and enjoys creating novels with heart, laughs and naughtiness. She doesn’t pull any punches when choosing her subjects, but manages to handle her characters’ challenging situations with sensitivity and humour.

Her debut novel ‘Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?’ was published by Corazon Books in March 2015. It reached the top 10 UK Kindle chart, and also topped the romantic comedy, contemporary romance and humour charts. It became available in paperback on Amazon.UK in November 2015.
Sue’s second novel ‘Love Them and Leave Them’ was published in September 2016.
Sue lives on the picturesque Isle of Wight with her husband, two sons and a standard poodle. Her passions in life are: her family, writing, the sea-side and all the beautiful purple things her sons have bought her over the years. Ask Sue to plan too far in advance and you’ll give her the heebie-jeebies and she’d prefer you not to mention Christmas until at least November!

Website: www.sueshepherdwrites.co.uk

Twitter – @thatsueshepherd

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/SueShepherdWrites

LOVE THEM OR LEAVE THEM

 

Can Jessie gain the confidence to get her life back on track? And will Jessica lose everything she cares about because of one stupid mistake?

Whichever decision Jessica’s dad makes, the same people are destined to come into her life, sometimes in delightfully different ways. And before they can look forward to the future, they will all have to deal with the mistakes of the past.

Now, twenty-something Jessie is stuck in a job with no prospects, with an unreliable boyfriend, Chris; her dreams never fulfilled.

 

What Reviewers have to say…

Another page turner from the No.1 bestselling author of Doesn’t Everyone Have a Secret?

“I really enjoyed the whole concept of this novel. Being able to see someone’s life in parallel worlds and how one decision can cause such a difference in someone’s life.” Sarah Hardy

“… a lovely novel that may get you thinking ‘what if’ … in your own life.” Rachel’s Random Reads

“A truly brilliant read – unique, funny and thought provoking.” Laura Bambrey Books

Six years ago, Jessica’s dad made a split-second decision that changed her life forever …

Now, twenty-something Jessica has a successful career, loving boyfriend, Nick, and a keen eye on her dream home.

But in a parallel world, Jessica’s dad made another choice and everything turned out differently …
Link to book on Amazon – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Them-Leave-heartbreaking-heartwarming-ebook/dp/B01LYT2VHO/ref=la_B00UI9ZAZI_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488401456&sr=1-2

 

 

 

 

MY REVIEW

As my Saturday evenings in aren’t complete without tuning in to BBC 4 to catch the latest episode of the current Nordic Crime series, I was really pleased to join this book tour for Kjell Ola Dahl’s latest novel Faithless.  Oslo detectives Frølich and Gunnarstranda’s investigations – one involving a missing foreign student and the other the murder of thirty something Veronika Undset – seem at the outset to have a tenuous connection.  The body, wrapped in plastic, also bears the hallmarks of a previous murder, but are they connected in any way?

As the book progressed and the fate of the missing student was discovered, I was left to concentrate on who out of all the suspects was Veronika’s murderer – and there were a few!  I made my choice. Now all I had to do was read on to discover how exactly they would eventually be apprehended.  I have to say the ending of the story took me totally by surprise – I honestly didn’t it coming.

A well woven plot with dark characters, tense moments and lots of surprises – thoroughly deserving of  5 stars.

Although a complete departure from my usual reading/reviewing I found the story gripping from start to finish.  This may well have started an addiction to Nordic Crime novels as well as TV series!

As the cover of Faithless says ‘Kjell Ola Dahl’s novels are superb. If you haven’t read one yet, you need to  – right now.’

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.

 

 

THE TOUR

 

Good morning Natalie and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Hello, and thank you very much for inviting me onto your blog.
I’m Natalie, and I live near Edinburgh in a very ordinary house with extraordinary views across the Forth Valley; on a clear day we can see for about 40 miles. I have deliberately put my desk against a wall to stop myself spending all day looking out of the window and soaking up the landscape.
I have cycled from Edinburgh to London, ice climbed on Ben Nevis, built drystone walls, worked in a pub and a supermarket (and very briefly, in a call centre – I was terrible at it). I was a nurse for 26 years, and then set up a textiles business making hand-dyed yarn.
My favourite food is cheese – any sort of cheese. If the world had to ban cheese or chocolate I would have no hesitation at all in binning the chocolate. I make a mean French onion soup.
Despite being the holder of a full motorbike licence, I am completely uncoordinated, and have given up trying to go to fitness classes because I always end up in a fit of giggles at the back.

How did your writing journey begin?

The short answer to that is “in fits and starts”.
At school, I had pen-pals. There was an organisation called International Pen Pals, and if you paid for five names you got two, absolutely free! So as a teenager, I wrote letters; lots and lots of letters.
I turned down an offer to go to university to study English when I left school, and decided to go and do all the drystone walling and rock climbing instead, which was much more fun.
And then, as an adult, with small children at home, I joined another Pen Pal organisation and wrote more letters to women in the USA and Ukraine and other places. Eventually that fizzled out, but in the days before Facebook and email, when ringing someone in America cost £2 a minute, spending time at the kitchen table with a pen and a stack of airmail paper taught me a lot about story-telling, though I didn’t realise it at the time. I started a blog in 2006 and wrote about knitting and the hens in the back garden, and how to change the filters on your Dyson (most popular blogpost, ever).
And then in 2015 I did a short writing course called Write Like a Grrrl, designed to help women get words from their heads onto the page, and met a group of amazing women in Edinburgh who I am proud to know.

Your debut novel The Sewing Machine is about to be published. What was the inspiration behind it?

Anyone who does dressmaking knows that you start sewing a garment together by filling a sewing machine bobbin with thread. How much you will need for the dress or skirt you are making is a total guesstimate. When you finish the project there is always a bit left on the bobbin, but we rarely remove it, we simply add the cotton for the next project on top of it.

I have a bit of a vintage sewing machine habit. When I brought home a 1923 Singer 99k, I wanted to use it, not look at it. I began to unwind the bobbins to refill them with fresh thread, and all of a sudden I realised that the colours in front of me were events in the lives of the former owners; school uniform, a dress for a dance, a pair of curtains.
That was the start of the idea for the book.

What research did you do for the book and where did you find the information you needed?

The internet is a wonderful thing, but it can’t replace actually visiting locations and looking at real documents.
I went to the site of the Singer factory (now demolished), and stood on the platform of the Singer train station. I visited Clydebank Library (the staff were great) and looked at archive material, receipts, newspaper articles and other ephemera, and I went to see the Singer Sewing Machine Collection at the same time.
In Edinburgh, I spent time in various locations, timed how long it took to walk from A to B, (and C and D) and consulted early 20th century street and business directories.
I learned very quickly that, without exception, people are kind and generous with their expertise if you ask. The acknowledgements list in the back of the novel will give you some idea of the range of questions I asked – everything from botany to chess!

Have you another book in the pipeline? If so, can you tell us something about it?

I do.
There is a theme to my writing, but I’m not writing a connected series.
In many ways, the main character of The Sewing Machine is not Jean or Fred, it’s the machine itself, and how people’s lives are influenced by it. The next novel is similar, but about a different object.
I’m a bit superstitious about saying more than that!

Who are your favourite authors?

I tend to have favourite books rather than authors, but I’ll do my best.

Long time favourites I have read several times:
Happenstance, by Carol Shields, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. This is one of my favourite books of all time.
The Diaries of Jane Somers, by Doris Lessing, published originally under a pseudonym.

Recent books:
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick
The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis
Pretty much anything by Denise Mina. I love the way she leads you into a plot.

And lastly, if you were planning a sabbatical on a desert island and could take four ‘must haves’, what would they be and why?

1. My Filofax and an endless supply of paper and pencils. It’s my tool of choice for note taking and plotting.

2. Teabags. Nothing fancy. Just as everyday cheddar is known as ‘mousetrap’ in our house, ordinary ‘mousetrap’ cheapie teabags would be perfect. Posh tea is wasted on me, I’m afraid.

3. Marmite. Being the first person to open a new jar and disrupt the glossy dark brown surface is an event which is fought over in our house!

4. A solar powered radio so I can listen to Radio 4, and be entertained by Rev. Richard Coles on Saturday mornings. If I get desperate I might be tempted back to The Archers, but it’s not been the same since the Nigel incident so I may stick with Gardeners’ Question Time instead.

The Sewing Machine  

 

It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again.

Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her.

More than 100 years after his grandmother’s sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents. His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams.

He starts to unpick the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.

E-book currently available for pre- order on Amazon –

Amazon.co.uk:http://amzn.eu/4fjGQSL
Amazon.com: http://a.co/cSAoD58

Waterstones Link:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-sewing-machine/natalie-fergie/9781911586043

Paperback to follow.

 

I was really pleased to be part of this tour.  I absolutely loved The Girls From See Saw Lane and Counting Chimneys so couldn ‘t wait to see how the Brighton Series came to a conclusion.

Sandy Taylor’s first two books were emotional rollercoasters and When We Danced at the End of the Pier is yet another.  On this occasion we have a prequel –  it’s Dottie’s mother Maureen’s story and it is every bit as heart-breaking as her daughter’s.

Sandy takes us through her childhood years, growing up with her younger sister Brenda.  Her mother cleans well to do peoples’ houses. Her father, emotionally damaged by his experiences in the First World War – what today we would call post traumatic stress disorder – stays at home to look after his daughters and cook.  Despite his relapses he adores his two daughters and gives them  a warm, loving environment.  However this does not stop him being labelled a work shirker by the girls’ unpleasant Uncle Fred and Aunt Vera.

When the family is moved from Carlton Hill to a new home in See Saw Lane, Maureen meets next door neighbour Jack. Although she is only eight years old at the time she instinctively knows they will always be together.

The story follows Maureen and Brenda’s  lives and their relationship with Jack and Nelson as they grow from children into young adults.  It’s a time of simple pleasures, of make do and mend and a great feel of community. There are so many changes to come for these four characters, not all of them good.  What does shine through is their resilience and ability to accept situations and make the best of them, no matter how difficult.  The two characters that particularly impacted on me were poor fatherless Nelson and the girls shell-shocked father.  Having said that, the rest of the cast are a brilliant weave of personalities – some to empathise with and some to thoroughly dislike. Sandy has a great gift for storytelling and I’m very much looking forward to what she has next in store for us readers.

A beautiful read that stayed with me long after I’d reached the last page and a fitting finale to the Brighton Trilogy.

 

Good morning Kaisha and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Hi Jo, thank you so much for having me on your blog today! Of course! As you know already, I’m Kaisha, which just happens to be the sort of name which you DO NOT find on souvenirs in a shop. Sob. I’m 27 years old and I have a three year old daughter called, Eva. I have been a single mum since I found out that I was pregnant so my ‘job’ is to look after her, and hopefully find a freelance/remote job in this industry! Oh, and I waffle on, sorry!

When did you decide to start your blog The Writing Garnet and what prompted that decision?

I have had my nose in books from the moment that I could read. Books have always been my ‘escape’ and when I became more ill the need to ‘escape’ became more persistent. One day I googled blogs as I wanted to find out if I could actually do it before I attached myself to the idea. It seemed straight forward enough and so on the 15th March 2016, The Writing Garnet was born!

What genre do you enjoy best?

Super tough question! I may waffle even though it’s a simple question ha-ha. I used to be a chic-lit buff in my teens, always stuck to the same sort of genre. But, as I grew up, genres such as psychological thrillers, contemporary fiction, and historical fiction decided to join chic-lit. So, in answer to your question, all four genres I have mentioned above are ones I enjoy on the same level.

You read an enormous number of books and I gather you’re able to do this because you speed read. Where did you learn to do this?

Fabulous question! Yes, that is the case. Erm, I don’t actually think I learnt how to do it anywhere as such. I have never known myself NOT to speed read, if that makes sense. Nobody believed me when I was a teen and I used to say that I was able to speed read, so I had my mum test me to show people that I actually retained the information in the book!

Have you ever been tempted to write a novel?

I have, yes. When I was 14 I sent Random House a story on note paper that I had hand written, completely oblivious to the process! I did get a reply from them saying that I was to keep on writing, which was so lovely of them. 13 years later and I still have zilch confidence to finally take the plunge. Although, I am wanting to write a non-fiction book about several issues I have been through and are going through, purely to raise awareness for other people. I just need to….do it.

Who are your favourite authors?

Tough one! I have LOADS! Let’s see, Sue Watson, Darcie Boleyn, Sam Carrington, KL Slater, Miranda Dickinson, Trisha Ashley, Cathy Bramley, Carole Matthews, Lisa Dickenson, Sue Fortin, Liane Moriarty, Kitty French, Kerry Fisher, Cathy Glass, Jacqueline Wilson, Cathy Cassidy, Carol Wyer, Heidi Swain & Diane Jeffrey to name a few. I do have a lot more but the list would go on, and on, and on lol.

And lastly, you are organising a dinner party and can invite four guests. They can be real or fictitious. Who would you choose and why?

Oh good question! Yet another toughie. I would choose Alice Rose from Trisha Ashley’s ‘The Little Teashop of Lost and Found‘, because she is such an incredible character to read about. She’s tough, sassy, absolutely hilarious and very memorable. I adored her.

Maggie O’Hara from Emma Heatherington’s ‘The Legacy of Lucy Harte‘, because she was such a mesmerising and humble character throughout the entire novel. I would love to be able to truly get to know the real her, although I probably would get very, very emotional!

My next guest, I hope this is allowed, would be Nelson Mandela. For some unknown reason, he has always found a way into my soul with his story, his words and energy. Like a lot of people, I was devastated when he passed away. For as long as I can remember, I have always looked up to him and his story hit home in more ways than one. Incredible man.

Lastly, I hope this one is allowed too, Emmeline Pankhurst. I probably sound like THE geekiest person ever now but never mind! Many moons ago, I had to do a home-school project on the Suffragette’s and I was absolutely blown away by the amount of courage that she, and the rest of the ladies, had. I would love to be able to sit down with her and find out why? How? just everything. Incredible woman.

 

 Contact KAISHA ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter: @kaishajayneh
Instagram: @Thewritinggarnet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thewritinggarnet
Blog: https://thewritinggarnet.wordpress.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/40776578-kaisha-the-writing-garnet

 

Good morning Sharon and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Thank you for having me Jo. I’m Sharon, 46 and have lived in Salisbury for the last 20+ years. My dad was in the army so we lived in Northern Ireland and Germany before moving to Wiltshire.

Sadly I’ve never married or had kids which is one of my biggest regrets but fortunately I live vicariously through my friends and their kids so get the best of both worlds, enjoy spending time together but then can go home for peace and quiet 🙂

I’ve been in the same job since I left school at 18 which is working in a technical department in the Life & Pensions Insurance industry. My job was under the threat of redundancy for quite some time, almost 4 years, but we’ve recently moved into a smaller office so seems a bit more stable… for now! Although it’s no longer the job I once loved, it pays the mortgage/bills and we have flexible working I can finish work early and travel to book events.

When did you decide to start a blog and what prompted that decision?

Every time I get asked this question it makes me realise how long I have been blogging as it feels like only yesterday I set it up but was actually back in October 2011.. so almost 5.5 years!
I was going through some issues at the time so a friend recommend I set up the blog as something for me to distract myself as she knew how much I loved reading, and also a way to keep a record of the books I read. I started out just reviewing books I’d bought or won in Goodreads or Twitter giveaways but over time I’ve been fortunate to have been contacted by publishers and authors alike offering me a variety of fantastic books to review.

What type of read do you enjoy best?

If you’d asked me this question 12-18 months ago I would have said that I mainly read romcom, contemporary or historical sagas, but my reading tastes are definitely veering more to the dark side nowadays as most of my current reading TBR is psychological thrillers or crime fiction.

Have you ever been tempted to write a novel?

No, I know my limitations. I struggle enough writing 500 words reviews that I think readers might be interested in reading let alone the thought (or discipline) of writing a 100,000 novel.
Believe or not I actually failed my English Language ‘O’ Level the first time, although I did pass English Literature, which everyone always thinks strange because I’ve always been a reader and bookworm. But as much as I enjoy reading other people’s words I’ve always had a problem articulating into words what I felt about books.

Who are your favourite authors?

Aaargh… that’s like asking a parent who their favourite child is I wouldn’t want to offend anyone.
I have many go-to authors whose books I add to my reading piles no matter how books I already have and have no idea when I’ll get to read them… JoJo Moyes, Jill Mansell, Milly Johnson, Paige Toon, Diane Chamberlain, Jodi Picoult, Linda Castillo, Sheila O’Flanagan, Zoe Miller, and Emma Hannigan to name just a few. But as I’ve been bitten by the crime bug recently I have just added the back catalogues of Jane Casey, Kate Rhodes and Mari Hannah to my TBR…. so just need to magic up another 24 hours in a day to read them all!

And lastly, you have been selected to take part in ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here. Who would be your ideal fellow contestants and why?

Well top of the list would have to be Idris Elba, well you have to have someone nice to look at 🙂
I think we’d also need to have a comedian or two to make us laugh so how about Eddie Izzard and Sarah Millican.
And finally we’d need a chef to teach us how to cook with the basics so how about Gino D’Acampo.

 

CATCH UP WITH SHARON ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Blog: http://shazsbookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShazsBookBlog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShazsBookBlog/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/shazsbookblog/

Good morning Rebecca and welcome. Can I start, as always, by asking you a little about yourself?

Hi Jo, thanks so much for having on the blog today. I’m a retired police detective turned crime writer who would love for cake to be a required food group.

How did your writing journey begin?

I was a late starter to writing. Although I often thought about writing a novel, I never did anything about it and when I tried, I got as far as writing a few paragraphs and then it was abandoned. As I approached my 40th birthday I thought I had better do something about my dreams. Life felt as though it was ticking away without me. So, I sat down and started typing. I didn’t have a plan, just a starting place and an ending in mind and I went from there. At the time, I was doing an OU degree in Geosciences and had completed all my level one courses. I decided to take a year out to see if I could write a novel, and I have never looked back.

Currently crime seems to be very much in vogue, whether in TV Drama, Films or books. What do you think is the reason for its popularity?

Crime fiction in novel format is the most borrowed book in UK libraries. Fantasy tends to be the highest grossing films, but crime TV dramas do seem to be on a constant production line. I don’t know why it’s so popular. It’s such a dark subject matter we’re reading about and watching, isn’t it? I would imagine part of it is the resolution at the end, having followed the good guy through the story, there’s a resolution where in reality we don’t always get that. But, it can’t be that simple. I think we like the darkness, but from the safety of our armchairs. Knowing it’s not real, but feeling as though we’re getting an insight into the people who do actually investigate this stuff or even an insight into the perpetrators, depending on what it is we’re reading and watching. We can do it vicariously and safely.

Can you tell us something about your current WIP?

I’m trying the ridiculous feat of trying to write two books at the same time. I’ve written the first draft of a standalone and that is now sitting quietly marinating as I write the first draft of DI Hannah Robbins 3, the third book in my series. To be honest, it’s stressing me out a little at the minute. I had written 23,000 words of it before deciding it was the wrong story, so I ditched it and I’ve had to start from scratch. I haven’t written an outline and only have the inciting incident which contains lots of questions for Hannah and her team to figure out the answers to – and me! Hence the stress. So, it’s in it’s very early stages. The stage where there’s lots of musings happening. Where it’s constantly in my head and options are playing out. I could tell you a little something of it, but at this stage it could change completely or I could even ditch another one! I’m working hard though, so I do hope to have it out by the late summer.

Name the top two destinations on your bucket list.

Now, this is a difficult question. Travel is one of the most prominently listed items on my bucket list. I was lucky enough to go to Washington DC for three weeks last year and loved it. Two other places high up on the list? I think I’d choose, New York and… probably Iceland. There’s so much to see and do in Iceland. So many natural wonders. And as you can see from my previous answer with the geosciences degree, I love that kind of thing. So, yes, New York and Iceland.
Are you sure you only want two…?

And lastly if you could have been a famous historical figure (real or fictional) who would it be and why?

Emmaline Pankhurst – for the obvious reasons. Her advancement of women’s rights, her sheer force of will and belief in what is right along with the energy to mobilise swathes of women to join her.

Made to be Broken

A rising death toll. A city in panic

A young mother is found dead in her home with no obvious cause of death. As DI Hannah Robbins and her team investigate, it soon becomes clear that the woman is the first in a long line of murders by poison.

With the body count climbing, and the city of Nottingham in social meltdown, the team finds themselves in a deadly race against a serial killer determined to prove a point.

And Hannah finds herself targeting an individual with whom she has more in common than she could possibly know.

Amazon link (It will take the user to whichever site they are based in, it is an intuitive link.)  myBook.to/MTBBWebsite

ABOUT REBECCA

Rebecca Bradley is a retired police detective and lives in Nottinghamshire with her family and her two cockapoo’s Alfie and Lola, who keep her company while she writes. Rebecca needs to drink copious amounts of tea to function throughout the day and if she could, she would survive on a diet of tea and cake while committing murder on a regular basis.

Rebecca’s Social Media Links

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