Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT ARDENT JUSTICE by Peter Taylor-Gooby Financial #Thriller

Today’s team review is from Judith, she blogs at http://judithbarrowblog.com/

Judith has been reading Ardent Justice by Peter  Taylor-Gooby

My Review:

It could be seen churlish to be in any way negative about Ardent Justice, especially as the reader is told up front that the book is  endorsed by Polly Toynbee and that the book is inspired by such eminent authors as Zoe Fairbairns and Lionel Shriver. And that all profits will go to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. But the mention of this somehow grated on me; it was as though I was being challenged to find any fault in the novel.

So, gripe over and having said that I will try to be as balanced as I can in this review.

Starting with the Blurb. There are too many small details in the second paragraph that is more or less repeated in the last. I’m not sure the second paragraph is needed. Hmm…

I enjoyed parts of the book. It’s an interesting, intricate  plot and, on the whole, I did like the author’s writing style.

Endorsed as a  feminist thriller, I can see why Ade is the strong protagonist and Paul a secondary character. But, for me, these characters didn’t come to life as I would have liked them to. Told from the perspective of Ade, I didn’t feel the anger in her that was warranted, with all that happens in the story.

There is also a lot of emphasis on how small and vulnerable Paul is which would have been all right but constant reference to this felt odd in comparison with him being portrayed as a protector of the homeless and a trouble maker by the police.

And I didn’t feel that the two characters formed a realistic relationship.

The dialogue attributed to Ade felt more like ‘telling’ instead of her talking and the internal dialogue was too stilted, too correct in the structure of the syntax, although the dialogue of other characters was good.

The descriptions of the settings gave a good sense of place and although the dreams sections slowed the action they were evocative and did sometimes reveal the turmoil of the protagonist’s mind.

I was in two minds about the ending; the hope that the two characters would be finally able to provide care for the homeless was uplifting but the knowledge that there would still be corruption and sexism in the City of London and that nothing could stop it was depressing.

I think the book would benefit from tighter editing.

All in all this book wasn’t really a book for me but will, I think, appeal to readers who enjoy, the cut and thrust of a city’s financial shenanigans.

Book Description

Ade is a tax-inspector. She hates the City of London. She hates the endless corruption, the bland assumption that tax is for the little people. She hates the casual sexism, the smug self-assurance, the inviolability of the men she deals with, and the cold certainty that nothing you can do will ever touch them.
She finds herself in the world of the rootless, marginal street homeless who live meagre lives in the shadow of the office blocks that house the rich. She meets Paul, an Occupy activist who works with homeless people. As their love for each other grows, they find real fulfilment in fighting for the rights of ordinary people, such as Gemma, a homeless single parent.
Ardent Justice is a gripping feminist thriller, endorsed by Polly Toynbee, the leading Guardian columnist. It tells the story of Ade’s struggle against the City and for her own integrity, and of her love for Paul, and of how hard it is to live a morally good life in a corrupted world. It has been inspired by Zoe Fairbairns and Lionel Shriver and will appeal to fans of character-led thrillers. Profits will be donated to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

“Good to find a novel with a strong social message about the way we live now”

Polly Toynbee, The Guardian

About the author

My novels deal with how people live their lives in a diverse globalised capitalist world. In ‘Ardent Justice’, Ade struggles against the corruption of the City of London, where high finance and street homelessness flourish cheek by jowl. In ‘The Baby Auction’ Ed and Matt struggle to lead a passionate, humane and generous life in a world dominated by the market.
In my day job I’m an academic. My research shows how market capitalism generates inequalities between haves and have-nots and promotes a corrosive individualism that stunts our capacity for empathy, charity and love.
I enjoy hill-walking, riding my bike, holidays and looking after my grand-daughter (not in that order). I became interested in social policy issues after working on adventure playgrounds, teaching, claiming benefits and working in a social security office in Newcastle. I’ve worked in the UK, most European countries, Canada, the US, China, Korea and Japan, Australia and South Africa.

Goodreads | AmazonUK | AmazonUS | Twitter

Losing It by Elizabeth Armstrong #UrbanFantasy #Bookreview

Losing it by Elizabeth Armstrong

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Losing it is an Urban Fantasy set in London, it opens with a dream scene which is a theme throughout the book. Then we meet Doctor Kate Winters as she arrives at her newly rented town house in Notting Hill. As the estate agent goes through the contract Kate is more fascinated by the pixies she sees.

Convinced these are hallucinations caused by post traumatic stress after her husband’s car crash, Kate begins a new life. Her neighbours in the town house are varied, Alec the sex God, Thomas the stony giant, plus she has her own Ninja mice flat mates.

With a need to distract herself from constantly thinking about Nick and being consumed by guilt over his death, Kate goes in search of childhood friend Ruth, now a Nun who helps at a shelter for the homeless. Clumsy from her own car crash scars, Kate makes friends at the shelter and a desire to help others kicks in. When 15 year old “O” turns up one day, Kate is instantly pulled towards her, but “O” is traumatised by Kate and disappears.

News of a Vampire style killer hits the headlines, women are turning up drained of blood and the police have little to go on. Kate’s urge to help “O” leads her into dangerous waters when she goes face to face with The Russian, a criminal drugs baron.

There’s more to “O” than just another runaway kid and soon no-one is who they appear to be. Dragged back to memories of family Aunts who claim to see fairies, Kate’s eyes are finally open to the shadow world and her part as a powerful player. A child born at midnight and one of 3 wounds; flesh, heart and soul, she’s been chosen in an age old battle .

This book did take a little while to get into, opening with a dream scene is an overdone starter, I could easily have been happy with the taxi arriving at the new house. The pixies make a unique and fun book opener. As the book progressed I was pulled into the storyline more and more until I couldn’t put it down.

I liked the way the paranormal world unfolded and character layers peeled away. I enjoyed Kate’s spunky haphazard character and her struggle to understand her role. The Nuns were fun and the homeless shelter scenes a delight. I connected less with the dream scene characters and was often confused with who they related to. But I thought Kate’s Aunts wonderful characters and would have enjoyed meeting them earlier in the book. I think there is definitely room for a sequel and would happily read it.

This review is based on a free copy of the book given to me by the author.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Mystery Book Tour Day 20 #MysteryNovember Prime Deception by Carys Jones

Welcome to Day 20 of the Mystery Book Tour.

Today Carys Jones joins us with her book Prime Deception.

Where is your home town?

My home town is Telford which is in Shropshire. It is in central England and pretty rural which is great for walking my beloved dog, Rollo.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing full length novels since I was twenty three. Before that I used to write short horror stories and poems but never actually finished anything…

What is your favourite sub-genre of mystery?

I love romantic suspense. I think that love is a really powerful force which can drive people to sometimes do truly terrible things which is why romance works really well within the mystery genre.

Where is your book set?

Prime Deception is primarily set in London, England.

Introduce us to Lorna Thomas.

Lorna Thomas is a spirited and ambitious young woman. She lands an intern position within Downing Street in London and so leaves her family home, and her twin sister Laurie, to pursue her dream of a career in politics.

Did she have a close relationship with her twin sister?

Lorna and Laurie were inseparable growing up but once they entered adulthood they began to slowly drift apart. However, they retained a closeness which even Lorna’s untimely death couldn’t destroy.

Where does Laurie begin her investigating? Why doesn’t she leave it to the police?

Laurie begins her investigation by following in Lorna’s footsteps and joining the intern program at Downing Street. The police have already ruled that Laurie killed herself so Lorna can’t turn to them for help as she is acting on instinct alone. Somehow, she just knows that her twin didn’t commit suicide.

Do you need a good understanding of British politics to get the most from this book?

Not at all. The political environment is merely the backdrop to the story, the main focus is on the characters and how Lorna’s death and subsequent search for the truth impacts them differently.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

I’m currently writing the third book in my Avalon series. The first two books, First to Fall and Second to Cry are already published through CarinaUK.

Where can readers find out more about you?

I’m very active on Twitter and love hearing from readers and bloggers!

You can follow me @tiny_dancer85

I’m also on Facebook;https://www.facebook.com/CarysJonesWriter

http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Deception-Carys-Jones-ebook/dp/B00IECF52E/ref=la_B004AEJO7W_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411660075&sr=1-5

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Deception-Carys-Jones-ebook/dp/B00IECF52E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1411660092&sr=1-1&keywords=Prime+Deception

 

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/prime-deception

 

http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/prime-deception-by-carys-jones/9781472094728

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/prime-deception-carys-jones/1118712160?ean=9781472094728

 

 

 

What Book Have You Read Multiple Times?

I was chatting to a friend about books yesterday and we discussed books that we have read multiple times. My friend has read “The Go Between” by L.P. Hartley many times, reading it from the points of view of different characters and finding lots of new points and enjoyment from the reading.

The Go Between by LP Hartley – the first line is “The past is another country, they do things differently there”.  My friend first studied it for her A level course and loved it – She has revisited it four or five times since then and sympathised with different characters each time.  “It perfectly captures the carefree days of summer, the loss of innocence, the British class system, the rising temperatures and building tensions of a doomed love affair.  Read it.  It’s one of my favourites.”

My friend has also read “The Diary of a Provincial Lady” by E. M Delafield.  Screamingly funny.  Written in a diary format for a magazine originally (like Bridget Jones).  All about keeping up appearances – it is a glimpse of life for a middle class woman in the 1930s.  She has bought it for lots of friends. How about you? Have you a book that you have bought for friends because it was so good?

I’ve read the Harry Potter series numerous times and I always find something I’ve forgotten or a detail I remember enjoying.

Diagon Alley, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, London.

Why don’t you tell me about a book or series that you have read multiple times and we will feature it here on the blog. I’ll let you take the floor and tell the readers about the book and what it is that has made you go back and re-read the book or books.

Artists drawing of Dobby at the Warner Bros Studio Tour, London.

Fill in the form below, telling me the Title and Author of your favourite book that you’ve read multiple times and briefly explain why, add your contact details and I’ll come back to you and we can feature the book as long as it is suitable for the blog. No cheating and promoting your own books though!

This has been a great feature, I have now removed the form to reduce my spam mail, you can still contact me via the contact tab at the top of the blog if you have a book you’d like to tell us about. Or just post a comment below. Thanks.

Guest Author Patrick Brigham

Today our guest is Patrick Brigham, author of yesterday’s book Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery. Here is a link to the post if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4YB

Let’s find out more about Patrick.

1)  Where is your home town?

I was born in a village just outside the town of Reading in Berkshire England.

2) How long have you been writing books?       

I started to write seriously in the late 80’s at a time when the UK was enjoying one of its many economic crashes and I had to put my day job on the back burner, along with the many others who got hammered alongside me. A friend suggested that I joined a writers club in Wimbledon where I was encouraged to write. It was where I met two quite well known authors, who obviously hadn’t joined in order to learn how to write, but went there because they said that they enjoyed the company of other writers and the inspiration this promoted. Writing is a lonely profession.

3) What was the key idea which started the storyline for you of Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery?       

Because I was the editor of a news magazine in Bulgaria, I was fascinated by the prospect of murdering myself as a fictional character, which is what seems to happening to Liam Side in Judas Goat. So I bumped myself off on a Narrow Boat, after which the story started to develop. I had always been very anti arms trade, seeing it as a scourge  which causes so many unnecessary deaths and so that became one of the main themes of this book. It underlined the fact that for someone to pull a trigger, first there has to be a trigger to pull!

4) I believe you’ve lived and worked in Bulgaria, how long were you there for?       

I lived there for nearly twenty years although I’d been there regularly, before the so called political changes in 1989, and met many of the Communist players.

5)  Can you tell the readers what led to Liam Side having business dealings with Bulgaria.

In the book it is made clear that most of his business dealings are on behalf of South Africa where he is from originally. This means that he travels a lot around the world including the Soviet Union, its satellite countries and client states. For this reason he is sucked into a shady arms deal mainly because his daughter’s  life has been threatened if he does not cooperate. However, because he is a cool character, he manages to turn this threat into an invitation for his co-conspirators to            ultimately meet either justice or their ultimate doom –hence the title Judas Goat!

6)  Can you explain the political relationship between South Africa and Bulgaria which led to Thomas Biko being in Sophia.       

Thomas Biko is the new South African Ambassador. A supporter of the ANC, he has been placed there by supporters of Nelson Mandela after the political changes within South Africa. Liam Side tries to help him to purchase necessary plant and equipment, missing from SA due to the past embargo.

7) Why is Antony Kwong based in the UK? And how would you describe his type of business?

 Antony Kwong is a very typical shady businessman who enjoys the thriving commerce of London and the fact that it has so many banks and historical connections with international trade. We must never forget that trading is a major part of the many activities in the City of London, as is commodity trading and maritime insurance. Unfortunately, arms trading also becomes a part of this business – officially and unofficially – as many tyrannical third world dictators try to stay in control of their countries and to exploit their own population.

8) Yuri Vassilev turned out to be very helpful to Lambert, tell us about his career path.       

He would be a career policeman attached to the Ministry of The Interior. He is an exception to the rule and as a civilized man, wishing to distance himself from the  corruption which Communism breeds. Forget Karl Marx and Lenin, Communism is about power and money and he just wants to be a good policeman. He is also useful and appears in my forthcoming novel too.

9) Tell us about your other book, Herodotus.

Herodotus – The Gnome of Sofia is a light hearted look at the bumbling antics of a largely inward looking and mediocre diplomatic corps, whose mantra is ‘If you do nothing, you do nothing wrong.’ Imbued with elitism and totally self serving, in this book we can see their world gradually falling apart when you the reader,            discover that the British Ambassador’s wife is in fact the daughter of Britain’s most notorious spy, Jim Kilbey. Not a particularly nice woman and rather like her natural father in many ways, she turns out to be treacherous, selfish and – showing all the signs of being a sociopath – not far distant from her father Jim Kilbey’s            disreputable character.

10)  What are you working on at the moment, do you have an expected publishing date?

In an Angel over Rimini, once more come across Detective Chief Inspector Michael Lambert, this time working for Europol. This is also a story which has two prongs – one past and one present – when he is sent by Europol to help investigate the abduction of a little English girl from Rimini in Italy. A part of the obnoxious trade in human beings and misery, Lambert discovers that the Italian police have practically given up trying to trace her. A problem of perception, Vice Inspector Bosola of the State Police is convinced that she was murdered by her parents and buried somewhere locally, despite the fact that there is evidence which shows that she has been kidnapped and transported into Europe. Lambert pursues the evidence which leads him to Greece, into Eastern Europe and back to Germany.

The second prong of this mystery is an historical one which involves his late father Billy. He served as an RAF officer in a Pathfinder Squadron, during the allied invasion of Southern Europe and what has become known as ‘The Dirty War.’ It seems that he may have had an affair with a beautiful Italian aristocrat whilst serving in Bari and that Michael Lambert might have a secret Italian half brother . But who is Billy Lambert really and why did he always carry a pistol?  There appears to be a mystery side to Billy Lambert which his son knows nothing about and possibly a murder as well! When DCI Lambert finally reaches through the smoke and mirrors he discovers the true story.

 Find a copy here from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Thank you Patrick and Good Luck with the next book.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Forgotten Garden features the most delightful magical garden in a coastal cottage in Cornwall. Spanning generations the garden means different things to the different characters. This book is about finding answers and peace, it spreads across the world and back again in its duration.

The first location is London 1913, we meet a stow-away on a boat and hear about the lady known as The Authoress. Next we go to Brisbane, Australia, 1930 and a birthday celebration for Nell. Her father decides to reveal the truth about her parentage. The information sets Nell on a journey to find her real parents, and it’s one that her grand-daughter Cassandra continues after Nell’s death.

A central character to the book is Eliza Makepeace and her book of Fairy Tales, many of which are included in the story. Her surname could well summarise the book in one word. The story, extends over a century, has many twists and turns, revealing what love and loyalty mean to the different people.

A long book at over 600 pages, but one I really enjoyed.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads.

Guest Author kit Bakke

Today our guest is Kit Bakke, author of yesterday’s book “Dot to Dot”, here is a link to the post if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4Lc

Let’s find out more about Kit and her writing.

1) Where is your home town?

Seattle, Washington

2) How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing books for about fifteen years.

3) What was the key inspiring for this book?

DOT TO DOT started out very differently. At first Dot was an adult and her problems and challenges were quite unlike our Dot’s. That version was also written in the first person, not the third. So a lot changed. The part that stayed the same was the setting in England.

4) Before this edition of the book, you wrote it with 2 other main characters , who were they?

The adult Dot had a husband, whom she thought was being unfaithful but he actually wasn’t and they had two grown sons, one of whom needed a kidney transplant, and Dot had a best friend who was sometimes helpful and sometimes not. So you see it was a much more complicated story—in all honesty, it was more complicated than I could handle. I did a lot of interesting research on kidney transplants, though.

5) What research did you do to get the accuracy of the descriptions of Alton and Keswick particularly?

I spend as much time in England as I can. I love the countryside and I love London. I am a long-time Jane Austen fan, so have spent a couple of weeks in the Alton area, soaking up the atmosphere and visiting the sights. A few years ago, I walked the Coast-to-Coast footpath, so was introduced to the wonderful Lake District. Seeing all the Wordsworth and Coleridge-related places got me reading about them, and I realized that Dorothy Wordsworth was an important part of their lives, and, as usual, the woman doesn’t get the credit she deserves. So I tried to fix that. And as for Mary Wollstonecraft, how could a person not be drawn to her courage, her politics and her sad, sad death. And then to have her daughter grow up to run around with (and eventually marry) Shelley and write Frankenstein was such an incredible bonus.

Our heroine Dot finds a lot of resonance in Mary Shelley’s life, and in the Frankenstein story.

6) How did you find writing the English words and mannerisms?

Love it. I love finding the differences between English English and American English. I especially like the way the English use the word “keen” to mean “like” or “looking forward to.” And I love tea—I love the idea that tea solves problems.

7) Did Aunt Tab believe in life after death?

Good question. Sometimes she certainly seems to, like when she says “Thea, Thea, here you go, but you will never be gone,” or when she speaks directly to the ashes. But I guess I’ll leave the final answer up to the reader.

8) What was Nick’s surname?

I don’t think I had that figured out. What do you think? Probably something like Weston or Smithfield or Leigh or Scofield…( ooh a part of me wanted you to say “Shelley”, but it may have sounded too corny)

9) What year did you have in mind for the setting of the book?

Today.

10) What are you working on at the moment? Do you have an expected publication date for fans?

I’m working on a nonfiction book about the anti-Vietnam war protest movement in Seattle in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some of my friends and I were very active in the anti-war demonstrations and such, and I want to tell that story to kids today. Don’t hold your breath, though; it’s probably at least a year or two away.

Find a copy here on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Thank you Kit, and Good Luck with the next book.

Dot to Dot by Kit Bakke

Dot to Dot by Kit Bakke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dot to Dot is a tale of discovery for 12 year old Dorothy Mary-Jane. Finding herself an orphan when a freak accident kills her Mum before her very eyes, Dot’s world falls apart. Everything becomes BT (Before Truck) or AT (After Truck) in Dot’s grieving life.

Aunt Tab comes to the rescue, and takes Dot on a trip to England in the hope of laying a few ghosts to rest and spreading Thea’s ashes in a few memorable places. She explains who Dot was named after and their trip follows 3 famous ladies. Dorothy Wordsworth, Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Austen. They travel around London, Alton in Hampshire and Keswick in the Lake District.

If you believe in ghosts or not, Dot meets these inspiring ladies and follows her own path of discovery whilst remembering the words of her mother “Be daring, Be inventive, Be loyal”. By the end of her week in England Dot finds hope for the future, deciding not to run away but by remaining loyal to her family.

Find a copy here on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Guest Author Julia Hughes

Today our guest is author Julia Hughes who wrote yesterday’s book “The Griffin’s Boy” here is a link to it if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4oS

1) Where is your home town?

London, the most beautiful city in the world.

2) How long have you been writing?

Always, and I’ve always enjoyed writing, but … around six years or so, something clicked. I realised that the books I most enjoy reading are those that allow me as a reader to fill in the gaps. As a fledgling author, I tended to paint the entire picture, but now, I have enough confidence in my stories to allow my readers’ imagination to take flight.

3) Why did you decide to write The Griffin’s Boy?

In “The Griffin Cryer”, my main character, Frankie, is in a hopeless place. Her brother, Michael, is in a coma. He shows no signs of recovery, and has had to be resuscitated several times. Frankie’s estranged father has already given his consent for medical staff to allow his son to die. Frankie’s mum begins to express her doubts that they are doing the right thing in keeping Michael artificially alive. Frankie feels suffocated by her mum’s over-protectiveness, and alienated from her peers at school. When she accidentally summons the griffin and his rider into this world, Frankie is forced out of her own misery. She’s determined to help griffin and rider back to their own world. Then she becomes aware that she can also help her brother back into this world. I wanted to write a story for young adults, and I know that often teenagers can feel very alone, and even powerless. But this isn’t the case, if you believe in yourself, you can change your own world; even something as small as taking up a new hobby, or learning a new art or craft can make a difference. Originally, the griffin and his rider served to illustrate the premise that out of the blue, something very special can happen in anyone’s life. But the griffin was awfully mischievous, and his rider was fantastically proud, and really quite arrogant (as befits someone who rides a griffin), and even while I was sketching out “The Griffin Cryer”, I knew I had to write their story.

4) Can you tell us more about the training a Griffin and his Rider would expect to get?

I put this question to Griffin Master Romulus. His response was “work hard and study, and who knows – maybe you’ll be selected as one of my recruits and discover for yourself what makes a griffin rider.”

5) How long is the training and what are their roles afterwards?

Again, Griffin Master Romulus answered: “Once a recruit is selected, training will continue until they can demonstrate their ability to patrol and protect both as a team, and individually.”

6) Where and when is the book set?

“The Griffin’s Boy” is set a few years before “The Griffin Cryer”, and takes place on Ella-Earth. Set in a parallel universe, Ella-Earth is our world’s twin, except evolution has taken a different path, and mythical beasts exist.

7) Can you explain ley lines in more detail?

Ley lines are another name for the telluric currents that criss-cross both this world, and our twin, Ella-Earth. They’re invisible to the human eye, but our ancestors were aware of them, and built many monuments along these ley lines to mark them, the most famous example being Stonehenge. In our world, birds and other animals use them to navigate. In Ella-Earth, they are used as conduits by spirits, both good and bad. Ley lines are visible to griffins, who are the sworn enemies of demons and bad spirits; and so griffins are the natural guardians of ley lines.

8) For those who haven’t read The Griffin Cryer how does it link to The Griffin’s Boy?

There are hints in “The Griffin Cryer” that the mysterious rider summoned by Frankie has no right to be a griffin rider. Once in a single generation, a person is born with the talent to cry down or summons griffins. However, it’s unheard of for a nameless nobody to be invited to join the elite Griffin Riders. I knew that Balkind’s rider must have achieved something very special for Romulus to select him as a recruit. This is his story.

9) Do you intend to write any more adventures for the Griffin Rider?
One of the Guardians of the Stones is still missing, as is his crystal. I’m certain there are still stories to be told. In particular, Samara is a strong character, and I’ve a feeling sparks will definitely fly when she meets Frankie.

10) Where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

Drop by my site anytime: JuliaHughes.co.uk, or visit my Amazon author page, it’s been a delight to meet with your readers, and I hope to stay in touch!

Find a copy of this book from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Guest Author Elaine Jeremiah

Today our guest is Elaine Jeremiah, author of yesterday’s book review The Inheritance, here is a link to the review http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4oH

Let’s find out more about Elaine and her work.

1) Where is your home town?

I live in Bristol, UK but I grew up in Hampshire near Southampton.

2) How long have you been writing?

I’ve been doing some form of writing most of my life.  I always loved doing creative writing while I was at school as well as at home.  Unfortunately being in education for so long (I studied English at university) meant that for a while my creative writing was put on the back burner, as I was doing a lot of studying.  But since leaving university I’ve been able to concentrate on my writing again and now I’m writing more or less every day.  I’m writing more now than ever.

3) What was the inspiration behind “The Inheritance”?

Well question no 7 pretty much answers this one!  I was searching for inspiration for a story I could write.  I hit on the idea of retelling the parable of the prodigal son for a modern audience.  I thought it would be interesting to tell it from the point of view of two sisters and ‘The Inheritance’ was what I came up with.

4) Do you come from a farming or rural background?

No I don’t.  I had to do some research on farming as I don’t know a lot about it.  It was interesting to me to find out a little about how dairy farms are run.  I have always loved being out in the countryside in England though, and I know parts of Cornwall as I have a lot of family living there.  So using my knowledge of Cornwall and researching the parts I didn’t know seemed to work well.

5) Would you like to live in London as Emma did?

Again, no!  I like to visit London, I find it’s incredibly fascinating as a place, but I would hate to live there.  The reason being it’s just so huge and busy as well as being a bit impersonal.  My sister lives and works there and I have yet to visit her at her new flat, so I’m planning on doing that soon.  I think there are various sides to London; it’s incredibly big as I’ve said and you can have different experiences depending on where you live.  If you’re very wealthy as my character Emma’s best friend is that potentially affects how you see it, I should imagine.

6) Tell us more about Steven’s brother Dan.

He’s been difficult for Steven as a brother because he’s always on the wrong side of the law and trying to get Steven involved in his schemes.  He’s not really interested in Steven as a person, certainly not in a brotherly way.  He just sees him in terms of how he can be useful to him in his dealings with other criminals.  So not a nice man.

7) I’m not the first to mention that the story reflects the parable of the prodigal son, was this your intention?

Yes, this was my intention (see above).  But I wanted to put my own slant on the retelling of it, particularly by having it be about two sisters and set in modern England.  I hope I’ve achieved that.

8) What’s your favourite genre and why?

Oh that’s a hard one.  The truth is I don’t really have one favourite genre; I have lots.  I’ve read a lot of historical fiction, some crime, romance, thrillers…  I could go on.  I think for me to enjoy a novel when I’m reading it, it has to grab me and be gripping no matter what genre it is.

9) What are you working on at the moment?

My current work in progress is called ‘Reunion’.  It’s a romance about a young woman who goes back to her school for a reunion.  Her schooldays were not happy ones and she’s only gone because her best friend thought it might be good for her.  It’s about the consequences of her going to it and what happens to her as a result after that.

10) Do you have an expected publication date?

I haven’t set a specific date to publish it.  I haven’t finished writing it yet, but I hope to get it finished and publish it sometime this year.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Thank you Elaine, it was great hearing more about your work, good luck with the next book.