I’m a great lover of historical fiction and often wonder how much of the research to an historical novel ends up in the book. As a result, I’m pleased to welcome Amie O’Brien, author of The Merchant’s Pearl to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell us a bit more about that very subject.

Published last year, The Merchant’s Pearl is available for purchase here.

The Merchant’s Pearl

Sarai was led to believe that the whole world could exchange their beliefs for hers. But when her parents are murdered, she quickly learns that the world never stops for just one person. The world takes, forgets, and swiftly moves on.

By 1875, she isn’t even Sarai anymore. She’s spent her teenage years repackaged as Leila, a palace concubine-in-waiting for the overly indulgent, Ottoman Sultan, Abdul’Aziz. Leila does her best to stay out of the eye of ‘Aziz as well as his son, Prince Emre. But when young and thoughtful Emre claims Leila for his own harem, she is forced out of her shell and thrown into a ring of competitive women. Here, she cannot hide from the attention her young master wishes to lavish upon her. Nor can she can avoid the ruthless retaliations of his prior favorite, Aster. But it’s the unexpected gift of sexual sanctuary and an inside look into his family’s struggles that really collides with Leila’s upbringing. Soon, despite her better judgment, she finds her heart becoming increasingly tied to him.

But can she submit her faith and independent spirit to such a future—a future where to be loved means settling for the fact that she can only ever be his favorite? Will she be able to take turns sharing him among the four beautiful girls he had received before her, one being a jealous rival and another a closest friend? And what will happen to their love if Emre’s father can’t hold together his fragile kingdom, an empire that has grave threats encroaching from every side…including within?

Getting the Balance Right

A Guest Post by Amie O’Brien

I knew there was a fine line when writing historical fiction. Though this was the first historical novel (or novel period) I had written, I had read enough of them over the years to know that my mind tends to wander when faced with too much information. My eyes begin to droop and suddenly my face gets smacked by my fallen treasure. I typically regroup, but not without fanning the pages to see how soon I’ll be rewarded with actual dialogue, not a recapping of what was going on in politics, fashion, or plagues.

Which is why…I never told myself I was writing a historical. In my mind, I was going to write women’s fiction. It was going to be sophisticated, solid. It was going to be deeply human, filled with characters flawed on both sides. It was going to be an all-out war of the hearts and, best of all, it was going to be romantic! Then the story started to reveal itself to me and I knew I had to find the perfect home for my characters.

My mind wrapped itself around a Victorian setting. I knew my cast were Christian and Muslim. I knew I had a story of slavery, an almost Esther of the Bible scenario in which other girls would vie for my character’s position, but she would feel utterly powerless and devalued.

First, I determined who Leila was before everything in her life begins to shatter. Then, after some soul searching, it came to me what would be her deepest desire. I mapped out several of the conflicts that would be before her, even before I officially began my research. I wanted them to be matters of the heart. I was certain that if what she wanted was universal—to be loved and valued above all else—then there would be plenty of accurate and compelling historical truths I could build around her.

Researching the Ottoman Empire was something completely new to me. I knew next to nothing about “white slavery.” But I was fascinated by every article, every Sultan’s reign, their political entrapments, and harem dynamics, so much so, that it made it painful to sift what would make it into my story.

It seemed to me there were plenty of novels covering earlier sultans, such as Suleyman, Mahmud, and Abdulhamid. They focused on either the swift rise of the Ottoman Empire and the heroic feats of these men, or they focused on the truly dark parts of Ottoman history, their families, and self-destructive, epic demise. Even more so, when written from a heroine’s perspective, the stories revolved around power. Women came in feisty, were tamed after seeing the promise of reward, and (after a few cat fights) traded their ambitions of love and freedom for more attainable goals, such as massive amounts of jewelry, dominion over lesser concubines, and the joy of producing an heir.

For me, these storylines didn’t match up to what I had laid out for Leila. It wasn’t her at all. So my characters took a far less beaten path. Basically, I discovered I didn’t need the crazy part of the historical encounters (or maybe just bits and pieces of crazy). What I personally found more compelling as a story was the direct conflict between Leila and her master, Emre. I wanted to see what would happen if an attachment slowly formed. Could Leila process those unexpected and unwanted feelings? Could she balance her faith with her actions? Would she crumble under the pressure? This led me to look at history through a more compassionate lens. What could I find in my research that would make excuses for Emre’s behavior? Where were the gray and muddled areas? Where could I see when progress was being made in the culture, but perhaps other countries would meddle, keeping them where they had started?

It’s true that The Merchant’s Pearl includes elements known to have caused the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It’s a very real fear for my characters as their story unfolds. But it was best that the reader only see the parts that my characters, a slave and her prince, would have knowledge of. If it threatened their future or pressed on their day-to-day life, then it was viable material. I wasn’t trying to teach a history lesson. I was trying to say something about love.

About Amie O’Brien

The Merchant’s Pearl is the first novel from Amie O’Brien, but she would tell you her characters are constantly nagging her for their future instalments. Madly in love with her husband and children, she hopes to spend more time petting horses, reading books, and pursuing her addiction with world travel.

You can follow Amie on Twitter and find out more about her writing here or on Facebook.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Linda Huber, author of The Saturday Secret back to Linda’s Book Bag. Linda previously told us about her writing life in a post that you can read here. Today Linda is persuading us not to be too tidy!

The Saturday Secret was published by Fabrian Books on 15th February 2017 and is available in e-book and paperback here. Profits from The Saturday Secret will be going to charity.

The Saturday Secret

The Saturday Secret and other Stories is a collection of fifteen tales of life, love, and family – perfect for a coffee-break! Previously published in UK national magazines, the stories are about relationships within the family and without – some are humorous, some bittersweet; all are upbeat and emotional.

The Party Partners   Belinda and Phillip have fun at weddings, engagement parties and all sorts of celebrations. But anything more personal was out of the question – or was it?

Family Matters   Gary shares Sharon’s dream of having children – but as far as he’s concerned, it’s something for the future.

Corinna’s Big Day   It was the most important day in baby Corinna’s life, but for Madge, it was one of the saddest…

Lucky for Some   You might say drawing number 13 in the cycle rally was bad luck. You might say falling off was bad luck, too. But Hilary knew better!

Patiently Waiting   Mike woke up after his operation and saw the girl of his dreams. The problem was the engagement ring she wore on a chain round her neck…

The Saturday Secret   What was she up to? The whole family wanted to know! But Gran wasn’t telling…

And many more…

The Dangers of Being Too Tidy

A Guest Post by Linda Huber

Two things happened to me in 2013. Both were  l  o  n  g  events; the kind that started one day and ended many months later, and both turned my life upside down. The more far-reaching was the publication of my first suspense novel, The Paradise Trees. From acceptance in January, through editing to publication in September, it took about 150% of my normal energy. And at the same time, I was selling the rambling old house my sons and I lived in, tidying and organising all our ‘stuff’ – we were downsizing from ten rooms, including the cellar, to four. Looking back, I don’t know how on earth I managed. That four-room flat was even a stopgap; we were there for 18 months while our new flat was being built. Which meant a lot of ‘stuff’ spent the duration in packing cases, and even more was ‘tidied’ away for good.

When you’re about to move house, and especially when you know you’ll soon be moving again, you look at your possessions and think, ‘I never use this. I never even look at it now. Do I really need to keep it?’ And when you’re downsizing so drastically, there’s a lot you can’t keep.

One little bundle that didn’t see the light of day all the time we were in the temporary flat was a 35-litre bin bag containing women’s magazines. My first pieces of published writing were in these mags; I hadn’t looked at them for years but I couldn’t have disposed of them any more than I could dispose of old photos of my children. They dated from the late nineties, when my first romantic short story was published. Fifty-odd others followed, humorous, light-hearted stories – and then one day I discovered the love of my writing life, psychological suspense, and I’ve never looked back.

Until last year, when I was searching for shoes in the spare room wardrobe and came across the bin bag of magazines. I looked at my story collection and thought, ‘I wonder…’ A couple of emails later, I knew that a) the rights to these stories now belonged to me, and b) lots of people had self-published collections of their ex-magazine stories.

I decided to do the same with some of mine, and also to make it a charity collection. Profits from both eBook and paperback sales of The Saturday Secret will go to a medical charity (still to be chosen – I plan to see what’s happening in the world at the end of this year, and then decide).

The moral of this story, for writers, is – never downsize. Keep everything you write, even in bin bags. I hadn’t looked at my stories for over a decade (I had to work my way through them, giving the characters smartphones etc), but I’m so glad I kept them.

And – every bit as good as making this charity collection – I found a story I can mould and change into another suspense novel. Watch this space!

About Linda Huber

Linda grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Not to mention several years being a full-time mum to two boys and a rescue dog.

Linda’s writing career began in the nineties, and since then she’s had over fifty short stories and articles published, as well as five psychological suspense novels. Her books are set in places she knows well – Cornwall (childhood holidays), The Isle of Arran (teenage summers), Yorkshire (visiting family), as well as Bedford and Manchester (visiting friends).

After spending large chunks of the current decade moving house, she has now settled in a beautiful flat on the banks of Lake Constance in north-east Switzerland, where she’s working on another suspense novel.

You can visit Linda’s web site, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

There are insufficient words to thank Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books enough for a copy of Sealskin by Su Bristow in return for an honest review.

Sealskin was published by Orenda on 15th January 2017 and is available in ebook and paperback by following the publisher links here.

Sealskin

What happens when magic collides with reality?

Donald is a young fisherman, eking out a lonely living on the west coast of Scotland. One night he witnesses something miraculous … and makes a terrible mistake. His action changes lives – not only his own, but those of his family and the entire tightly knit community in which they live. Can he ever atone for the wrong he has done, and can love grow when its foundation is violence?

Based on the legend of the selkies – seals who can transform into people – Sealskin is a magical story, evoking the harsh beauty of the landscape, the resilience of its people, both human and animal, and the triumph of hope over fear and prejudice. With exquisite grace, Exeter Novel Prize-winner Su Bristow transports us to a different world, subtly and beautifully exploring what it means to be an outsider, and our innate capacity for forgiveness and acceptance. Rich with myth and magic, Sealskin is, nonetheless, a very human story, as relevant to our world as to the timeless place in which it is set. And it is, quite simply, unforgettable.

My Review of Sealskin

When Donald encounters the selkies dancing on the shore, lives in his small community will never be the same again.

And my life will never be the same again having read Sealskin. I’ve been sitting here trying to compose myself sufficiently to write a review and I’m struggling. I know Sealskin is based on a well known legend, but somehow Su Bristow manages to shape a narrative that is totally enthralling, fresh in its telling and devastating in its effect on the reader. I do genuinely feel bereft having finished this wonderful book. Although it’s relatively short, it actually took me quite a few days to read because I felt its intensity so acutely and had to recover after each chapter read.

Su Bristow’s prose is as silky and graceful as a seal in water. So many phrases almost stopped me in my tracks and I had to allow time to savour and contemplate how beautifully she had constructed the language. I was reminded time and again of the best of Thomas Hardy and, on occasion, of the kind of sprung rhythm of Gerard Manly Hopkins, so poetic is the writing. And yet, at the same time, it is also simple and pared back giving a balance and depth of emotion I can hardly describe. Su Bristow ensnares the reader in her narrative in an almost mystical way.

I adored the characterisation. Even the most minor characters have depth that makes them come alive instantly on the page. But Mairhi is a triumph. Though speechless, she manages to convey the full range of emotions so that she is like phosphorescence on the sea – beautiful, magical and enchanting. Donald too grows before the eyes of the reader so that it is impossible not to be heartbroken by his story. The relationship between Donald and Maihri is so intricate and intense that I almost felt like a voyeur at times but I didn’t want to tear myself away.

If the brilliance of characterisation and the magnificence of the writing were not enough, Su Bristow conveys superbly the sense of community in the fishing village. The pettinesses, the intrigues, the violence, the sense of belonging and of being an outsider – all the elements one would expect are woven into this story like the fishermen weave their nets. It really is a triumph.

The plot of Sealskin is quite simple in a way, describing the lives of the fishing village, but manages simultaneously to be alluring and captivating so that it feels as if a spell has been put on the reader to beguile them and ensnare them. I loved every word of it.

2017 has produced some fantastic books this year so far and Sealskin by Su Bristow takes its place amongst the very best. What a book. It is, quite simply, outstanding.

About Su Bristow

Su Bristow is a consultant medical herbalist by day. She’s the author of two books on herbal medicine: The Herbal Medicine Chest and The Herb Handbook; and two on relationship skills: The Courage to Love and Falling in Love, Staying in Love, co-written with psychotherapist, Malcolm Stern. Her published fiction includes ‘Troll Steps’ (in the anthology, Barcelona to Bihar), and ‘Changes’ which came second in the 2010 CreativeWritingMatters flash fiction competition. Her novel, Sealskin, is set in the Hebrides, and it’s a reworking of the Scottish legend of the selkies, or seals who can turn into people. It won the Exeter Novel Prize 2013. Her writing has been described as ‘magical realism; Angela Carter meets Eowyn Ivey’.

You can follow Su on Twitter and find her on Facebook.

I’m thrilled to be part of the launch celebrations for The Breakdown by B A Paris as this book is on my must read pile. The Breakdown was published by Story HQ, an imprint of Harper Collins on 9th February 2017 and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback through the publisher links here.

Today I have an extract from The Breakdown for you to read as well as the chance to win one of three paperback copies of the book.

The Breakdown

It all started that night in the woods.

Cass Anderson didn’t stop to help the woman in the car, and now she’s dead.

Ever since, silent calls have been plaguing Cass and she’s sure someone is watching her.

Consumed by guilt, she’s also starting to forget things. Whether she took her pills, what her house alarm code is – and if the knife in the kitchen really had blood on it.

An Extract from The Breakdown

FRIDAY, JULY 17th

The thunder starts as we’re saying goodbye, leaving each other for the summer holidays ahead. A loud crack echoes off the ground, making Connie jump. John laughs, the hot air dense around us.

‘You need to hurry!’ he shouts.

With a quick wave I run to my car. As I reach it, my mobile starts ringing, its sound muffled by my bag. From the ringtone I know that it’s Matthew.

‘I’m on my way,’ I tell him, fumbling for the door handle in the dark. ‘I’m just getting in the car.’

‘Already?’ His voice comes down the line. ‘I thought you were going back to Connie’s.’

‘I was, but the thought of you waiting for me was too tempting,’ I tease. The flat tone to his voice registers. ‘Is everything all right?’ I ask.

‘Yes, it’s just that I’ve got an awful migraine. It started about an hour ago and it’s getting steadily worse. That’s why I’m phoning. Do you mind if I go up to bed?’

I feel the air heavy on my skin and think of the storm looming; no rain has arrived yet but instinct tells me it won’t be far behind. ‘Of course not. Have you taken anything for it?’

‘Yes, but it doesn’t seem to be shifting. I thought I’d go and lie down in the spare room; that way, if I do fall asleep, you won’t disturb me when you come in.’

‘Good idea.’

‘I don’t  really  like  going to  bed  without  knowing you’re back safely.’

I smile at this. ‘I’ll be fine, it’ll only take me forty minutes. Unless I come back through the woods, by Blackwater Lane.’

‘Don’t you dare!’ I can almost sense a shaft of pain rocketing through his head at his raised tone. ‘Ouch, that hurt,’ he says, and I wince in sympathy. He lowers his voice to a more bearable level. ‘Cass, promise you won’t come back that way. First of all, I don’t want you driving through the woods on your own at night and, second, there’s a storm coming.’

‘OK, I won’t,’ I say hastily, folding myself onto the driver’s seat and dropping my bag onto the seat next to me.

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’ I turn the key in the ignition and shift the car into gear, the phone now hot between my shoulder and ear.

‘Drive carefully,’ he cautions. ‘I will. Love you.’

‘Love you more.’

I put my phone in my bag, smiling at his insistence. As I manoeuvre out of the parking space, fat drops of rain splatter onto my windscreen. Here it comes, I think.

By the time I get to the dual carriageway, the rain is coming down hard. Stuck behind a huge lorry, my wipers are no match for the spray thrown up by its wheels. As I move out to pass it, lightning streaks across the sky and, falling back into a childhood habit, I begin a slow count in my head. The answering rumble of thunder comes when I get to four. Maybe I should have gone back to Connie’s with the others, after all. I could have waited out the storm there, while John amused us with his jokes and stories. I feel a sudden stab of guilt at the look in his eyes when I’d said I wouldn’t be joining them. It had been clumsy of me to mention Matthew. What I should have said was that I was tired, like Mary, our Head, had.

The rain becomes a torrent and the cars in the fast lane drop their speed accordingly. They converge around my little Mini and the sudden oppression makes me pull back into the slow lane. I lean forward in my seat, peering through the windscreen, wishing my wipers would work a little faster. A lorry thunders past, then another and when it cuts back into my lane without warning, causing me to brake sharply, it suddenly feels too dangerous to stay on this road. More lightning forks the sky and in its wake the sign for Nook’s Corner, the little hamlet where I live, looms into view. The black letters on the white background, caught in the headlights and glowing like a beacon in the dark, seem so inviting that, suddenly, at the very last minute, when it’s almost too late, I veer off to the left, taking the short cut that Matthew didn’t want me to take. A horn blares angrily behind me and as the sound chases me down the pitch- black lane into the woods, it feels like an omen.

Even with my headlights full on, I can barely see where I’m going and I instantly regret the brightly lit road I left behind. Although this road is beautiful by day – it cuts through bluebell woods – its hidden dips and bends will make it treacherous on a night like this. A knot of anxiety balls in my stomach at the thought of the journey ahead. But the house is only fifteen minutes away. If I keep my nerve, and not do anything rash, I’ll soon be home. Still, I put my foot down a little.

A sudden rush of wind rips through the trees, buffeting my little car and, as I fight to keep it steady on the road, I hit a sudden dip. For a few scary seconds, the wheels leave the ground and my stomach lurches into my mouth, giving me that awful roller-coaster feeling. As it smacks back down onto the road, water whooshes up the side of the car and cascades onto the windscreen, momentarily blinding me.

‘No!’ I cry as the car judders to a halt in the pooling water. Fear of becoming stranded in the woods drives adrenalin through my veins, spurring me into action.

Shifting the car into gear with a crunch, I jam my foot down. The engine groans in protest but the car moves forward, ploughing through the water and up the other side of the dip. My heart, which has been keeping time with the wipers as they thud crazily back and forth across the windscreen, is pounding so hard that I need a few seconds to catch my breath. But I don’t dare pull over in case the car refuses to start again. So I drive on, more carefully now.

A couple of minutes later, a sudden crack of thunder makes me jump so violently that my hands fly off the wheel. The car slews dangerously to the left and as I yank it back into position, my hands shaking now, I feel a rush of fear that I might not make it home in one piece. I try to calm myself but I feel under siege, not only from the elements but also from the trees as they writhe back and forth in a macabre dance, ready to pluck my little car from the road and toss it into the storm at any moment. With the rain drumming on the roof, the wind rattling the windows and the wipers thumping away, it’s difficult to concentrate.

There are bends coming up ahead so I shift forward in my seat and grip the wheel tightly. The road is deserted and, as I negotiate one bend, and then the next, I pray I’ll see some tail lights in front of me so that I can follow them the rest of the way through the woods. I want to phone Matthew, just to hear his voice, just to know I’m not the only one left in the world, because that’s how it feels. But I don’t want to wake him, not when he has a migraine. Besides, he would be furious if he knew where I was.

Just when I think my journey is never going to end, I clear a bend and see the rear lights of a car a hundred yards or so in front of me. Giving a shaky sigh of relief, I speed up a little. Intent on catching it up, it’s only when I’m almost on top of it that I realise it isn’t moving at all, but parked awkwardly in a small lay-by. Caught unaware, I swerve out around it, missing the right-hand side of its bumper by inches and as I draw level, I turn and glare angrily at the driver, ready to yell at him for not putting on his warning lights. A woman looks back at me, her features blurred by the teeming rain.

Thinking that she’s broken down, I pull in a little way in front of her and come to a stop, leaving the engine running. I feel sorry for her having to get out of her car in such awful conditions and, as I keep watch in my rear-view mirror – perversely glad that someone else has been foolish enough to cut through the woods in a storm – I imagine her scrambling around for an umbrella. It’s a good ten seconds before I realise that she’s not going to get out of her car and I can’t help feeling irritated, because surely she’s not expecting me to run back to her in the pouring rain? Unless there’s a reason why she can’t leave her car – in which case, wouldn’t she flash her lights or sound her horn to tell me she needs help? But nothing happens so I start unbuckling my seat belt, my eyes still fixed on the rear-view mirror. Although I can’t see her clearly, there’s something off about the way she’s just sitting there with her headlights on, and the stories that Rachel used to tell me when we were young flood my mind: about people who stop for someone who’s broken down, only to find there’s an accomplice waiting to steal their car, of drivers who leave their cars to help an injured deer lying in the road only to be brutally attacked and find that the whole thing was staged. I do my seat belt back up quickly. I hadn’t seen anyone else in the car as I’d driven past but that doesn’t mean they’re not there, hiding in the back seat, ready to leap out.

Giveaway

For your chance to win one of three paperback copies of The Breakdown click here. Giveaway closes at UK midnight on Wednesday 22nd February 2017.

About B A Paris

B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, her debut novel. She was brought up in England and moved to France where she spent some years working in Finance before re-training as a teacher and setting up a language school with her husband. They still live in France and have five daughters

You can follow B A Paris on Twitter and find her on Facebook.

I’m delighted to welcome back Jennifer Gilmour, author of Isolation Junction to Linda’s Book Bag today in association with Emma Mitchell PR. Previously Jennifer provided a highly thought provoking post on tackling domestic abuse through fiction that you can read here.

Today Jennifer is explaining more about the motivation behind Isolation Junction which is available for purchase in e-book here and paperback here. There’s also a lovely giveaway for you to enter further down this post to win either a signed paperback or an e-copy pf Isolation Junction.

Isolation Junction

Rose is the mother of two young children, and finds herself living a robotic life with an abusive and controlling husband. While she struggles to maintain a calm front for the sake of her children, inside Rose is dying and trapped in ‘Isolation Junction’.

She runs an online business from home, because Darren won’t let her work outside the house. Through this, she meets other mums and finds courage to attend networking events, while Darren is at work, to promote her business. It’s at one of these events that Rose meets Tim, a sympathetic, dark-haired stranger who unwittingly becomes an important part of her survival.

After years of emotional abuse, of doubting her future and losing all self-confidence, Rose takes a stand. Finding herself distraught, alone and helpless, Rose wonders how she’ll ever escape with her sanity and her children. With 100 reasons to leave and 1,000 reasons she can’t, will she be able to do it? Will Tim help her? Will Rose find peace and the happiness she deserves? Can Rose break free from this spiralling life she so desperately wants to change?

Why I Wrote Isolation Junction

A Guest Post by Jennifer Gilmour

I was on an awareness course about Domestic Abuse. Alongside me were about 8 other women who had been in abusive relationships. As the day progressed, I found that I simply couldn’t believe that some of what the other women were saying was exactly what I had gone through but just in a different format. Domestic Abuse tends to go in a cycle (see photo below) and whichever way it begins, the behaviour spirals again and again.

At first it could be months between incidents but for me, as time went on there were many instances within one day. It is quite normal to try to prevent the cycle from starting again by changing your behaviour as much as possible.

By the end of the course I had come to understand that we were all subjected to the same behaviour and that no one knew before that this could even happen to someone i.e. that a relationship can be so unhealthy and soul destroying. I realised that others simply needed to know more about this unacceptable behaviour; they needed to see the warning signs before the relationship goes further or the behaviour gets even more serious.

On the other hand, I needed others to see the behaviour for what it is. If people are in a relationship and the behaviour within it is not acceptable and is not their fault, it can’t simply be changed by changing yourself.

I knew I had a story to tell and with my previous unfinished written work I realised my first novel had to be more than a book but a message – a way for others to be able to pass a book on to help victims and to get the penny to drop and bring about realisation of what is happening sooner. This means that when the relationship ends victims and survivors realise they are not the only ones out there and its ok to talk about the abuse.

Giveaway

This giveaway is run by Emma Mitchell PR and closes on Monday 20th February 2017. Click here to enter to win either a signed paperback or an e-copy of Isolation Junction.

Successful winners must respond to Emma’s email by 8PM UK time on Wednesday 22nd February 2017 otherwise a further winner will be selected.

About Jennifer Gilmour

Born in the North East, Jennifer is a young, married mum with three children. She is an entrepreneur, running a family business from her home-base and she has a large readership of other young mums in business for her blog posts.

Jennifer’s debut novel Isolation Junction is designed to raise awareness of domestic violence whilst providing readers with a great read.

You’ll find more about Jennifer on her website, on Facebook and by following her on Twitter.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I loved Willow Walk by SJI Holliday, reviewed here, so I’m thrilled to be part of the launch celebrations for book three in the Banktoun series, The Damsel Fly. I’ll be sharing my review of The Damsel Fly very soon, but today I have a wonderful interview with SJI Holliday.

The Damsel Fly was published by Black and White on 2nd February 2017 and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

The Damsel Fly

Katie Taylor is the perfect student. She’s bright and funny, she has a boyfriend who adores her and there are only a few months left of school before she can swap Banktoun for the bright lights of London. Life gets even better when she has an unexpected win on a scratch card. But then Katie’s luck runs out.

Her tragic death instead becomes the latest in a series of dark mysteries blighting the small town. The new school counsellor Polly McAllister, who has recently returned to Banktoun to make amends in her own personal life, is thrown in at the deep end as the pupils and staff come to terms with Katie’s death. And it’s not long before she uncovers a multitude of murky secrets. Did Katie have enemies? Is her boyfriend really so squeaky clean? And who is her brother’s mysterious friend?

With Banktoun’s insular community inflamed by gossip and a baying mob stirring itself into a frenzy on social media, DS Davie Gray and DC Louise Jennings must work out who really murdered Katie before someone takes matters into their own hands…

An Interview with SJI Holliday

Hi Susi. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on my blog about your writing and your latest release The Damselfly. Firstly, please could you tell me a little about yourself?

Hi Linda. Thanks for having me! A little bit about me… well, I am Scottish, have travelled the world and now live in London. I grew up in a small town near Edinburgh where my parents had a newsagents and then a pub… so you can see where the influence came from for the settings in my books! I’ve got a brother who lives in New Zealand, a sister in Chile and another sister who still lives in Scotland. I try to visit as often as I can.

And tell us a bit about The Damselfly without spoiling the plot of course!

It’s a tragic tale about a teenage girl who is found dead at home. It’s a classic whodunit with lots of potential suspects, mixed with the psychological exploration of a community in mourning.

How far is Banktoun, the setting for your novels, based in a real place and how far an imaginary place?

Basically Banktoun is my home town, with some parts removed or renamed. When I was writing Black Wood, I printed out a map of the area, scored out the bits I was cutting out, adding in my replacement street names, and spotted an actual place called Black Wood just outside the real town. It was meant to be!

The Damselfly is your third book set in Banktoun. How have the plots emerged?

I always had the idea for The Damselfly bubbling at the back of my mind after a real-life tragedy that stuck with me. Willow Walk came from nowhere, in that I had no real idea I was going to write it, but it did emerge from Black Wood in that Marie was mentioned very briefly in the first book as a potential love interest for Davie and it didn’t pan out – so I decided to give her a story. I did something similar with Quinn from Willow Walk, who is given his own part to play in the third book. So although these are standalone mysteries, reading them in order does provide the reader with a few nuggets.

How do you think your writing has changed or consolidated over the three books of Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly?

I deliberately set out to write each book in a different way, but still keeping the overall voice that comes out of me without me having any control over it. I experimented with past and present tense, first and third person narrators, flashbacks, things such as letters and blogs inserted in there to add to the tension. Ultimately I am still a new writer, with only three books under my belt, and I don’t think I will ever stop learning and experimenting with what I do. People say this is my best book. I hope I can keep improving, but I’m worried that it’s not achievable. Authors are notoriously wracked with self-doubt.

The Damselfly considers the impact of social media. What is your view of today’s use of social media?

It has its pros and cons. I do hark back to the days before it existed and have fond memories of a life without the internet, but it exists now and it isn’t going away. Social media is an excellent way for people to keep in touch from all over the world, in real time. People make friends that they might never have made otherwise, and then meet them in real life. People who love books are spoilt for choice with recommendations, clubs, blogs about books. But there is a dark side, of course. The keyboard warriors who set out to deliberately hurt, forgetting that there is a real person behind the screen somewhere. Nasty people will always be nasty. It’s a shame to give them a platform, but removing it won’t make them go away.

Why do you think female writers are so good at psychological thrillers?

Ha – good question – probably because we overthink things too much! Some things I tell my husband, and I can tell he is trying hard not to roll his eyes at me when I am analysing something I’ve read or heard about in the most minute detail. I think men are more into doing things, women are more into talking them to death first – sweeping generalisations, of course. Mark Edwards and Peter Swanson are excellent psychological thriller writers.

You also work in the pharmaceutical industry. To what extent does this give you an understanding of procedures that you can employ in your writing?

I’m not sure it helps at all! Unless you can count the slightly anal use of spreadsheets and managing time effectively – I work best when I am busy and have a deadline.

All your books have received critical acclaim from fellow writers. How does that make you feel?

It’s an amazing feeling when a writer you have admired for years tells you that they loved your book. I find it hard to believe them. It is utterly terrifying asking your peers to read and comment on your book – this one especially so, as I was convinced it was total rubbish.

When I read your books I’m always so impressed by the way the variety of sentence length affects the tension and plot. Do you have to edit hard to achieve this effect or is it part of your natural writing style?

It’s my natural style. I spent a long time writing short stories before I finished a novel and I think this time was where I really developed my ‘voice’ without realising that was what I was doing. I spend a lot of time thinking about the book before writing a word. I write lots of notes, and then I finally get stuck in. When I edit, there are huge passages that I don’t even touch – but of course there are certain parts which will get re-written several times until they sound just right.

Your books increase my heart rate as I read. Does your writing have the same effect on you as you write?

Yes! And some bits make me scared, or sad and some bits make me cry. Quite a lot of The Damselfly made me cry. When I am in the flow of it, I do feel like I am actually in Banktoun and that I actually know these people.

You often take part in events with other writers. How important is it for you to do this?

It’s very important for several reasons. Firstly, there are thousands of authors out there and thousands of books published every year – we have to be seen so that readers know we exist. It makes my heart sink when I tell someone I am a writer and they say ‘Oh, would I have heard of anything you’ve written?’ and I say ‘No, of course not!’ How many authors would the average person recognise on the street? Very few, I think. Secondly, we write to be read – so meeting readers is wonderful – especially if they have read your book and make a point of coming to tell you so. Being at a good book event can also introduce your books to new readers, and that is ultimately the aim. Thirdly, I have made some very good friends in this business – crime authors are a lovely bunch and it is always great fun to hang out with your mates, talking about stuff you love.

So, if you hadn’t become an author, what would you have done instead as a creative outlet?

I love drawing, but I am not very good at it anymore (I was quite good when I was younger.)  I keep hoping I will have more time to teach myself. I will, eventually! My dream would be to write and illustrate a children’s book. One day!

And finally, when you’re not writing, what do you like to read?

I love creepy psychological thrillers and the everyday horror type things. One to watch out for this year is The Binding Song by Elodie Harper. My perfect kind of book.

Thanks so much Susi for your time in answering my questions.

About SJI Holliday

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday grew up in East Lothian. A life-long fan of crime and horror, her short stories have been published in various places, and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize. She has written three crime novels, a mix of police procedural and psychological thriller, set in the fictional Scottish town of Banktoun. They are: Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly – all featuring the much loved character, Davie Gray. Susi also works as a pharmaceutical statistician. She is married and lives in London.

You can find out more about SJI Holliday via her website, by following her on Twitter or finding her on Facebook.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

I’m so pleased to be part of the launch celebrations for One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis. One Little Mistake will be published in e-book on 23rd February 2017 and paperback on 15th June 2017 and is available for purchase here.

I so love a psychological thriller and am delighted to have the opportunity to interview Emma Curtis about One Little Mistake today.

One Little Mistake

Vicky Seagrave is blessed: three beautiful children, a successful, doting husband, great friends and a job she loves. She should be perfectly happy.

When she risks everything she holds dear on a whim, there’s only person she trusts enough to turn to.

But Vicky is about to learn that one mistake is all it takes; that if you’re careless with those you love, you don’t deserve to keep them . . .

An Interview with Emma Curtis

Hi Emma and welcome to Linda’s Book Bag. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about yourself please?

Hi Linda. Thank you so much for putting this together. It’s my first interview for One Little Mistake and so is a great opportunity to work out what my responses and feelings about the book are.  I am in my early fifties, married and live in London and have two grown up children.  I’ve wanted to write for a long time but started after I had my second baby and needed something to fill my mind.  I had no luck but learnt a great deal.  I worked as a secretary for many years and then started writing again when my oldest went to University.  Four years and several manuscripts later I found a wonderful agent, Victoria Hobbs at AM Heath (the hardest thing, harder than writing or finding a publisher, is getting representation.)  I was lucky enough to be picked up by Transworld.

(I think talent might have something to do with it too!)

And tell us a little about One Little Mistake without spoiling the plot please! 

One Little Mistake came from unresolved feelings of guilt about early motherhood.  When I had my first child we were living in a one bed flat in Stockwell, my husband was travelling a lot for work and I became very isolated.  I was young and my friendship group hadn’t reached that stage yet, so I was on my own. I can’t look back at that time without wincing in horror.  It never occurred to me to ask for help from family or doctors.  It could have gone badly wrong, but fortunately my son and daughter survived my sketchy mothering and have grown into grounded and gorgeous young adults. One Little Mistake is about a young mother whose moment of madness puts her in a position where  she can no longer trust the people closest to her.

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

I think the moment I thought, I can do this, was when I won first prize in a Short Story competition.  It was like I had been given permission to say, I am a writer. That was a wonderful moment for me for which I’ll be forever grateful.  It spurred me on.

What drew you to a psychological thriller as opposed to any other genre in your writing?

Because I love them!  I am an eclectic reader and read all types of fiction, but a good domestic noir, psychological thriller is my guilty pleasure.

From a technical point of view I do need boundaries, a kind of scaffold to the novel, because that scaffold frees me to write how I like and what I like within it.  Does that make sense?  When I first started, I tried Mills and Boon and although I had no success, I loved what you could do within their rules – those came on a cassette back then.  A climbing rose flourishes on a good solid trellis after all.

There seems to be a proliferation of women writing psychological thrillers. Why do you think that is and how far do you think different genres are gender driven?

You are right, there are.  I don’t know why that is.  I know that I love watching that sort of drama on TV but my husband and son won’t touch it.  They cope well with violence, blood-curdling torture and endless decapitations in the likes of Game of Thrones and Vikings, but the thought of a child going missing from an ordinary family just like theirs – well they just can’t hack it.  Perhaps we need a psychiatrist for that one.

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

Writing fresh material is the easiest aspect.  Self-editing is the toughest.  Somewhere in the middle is doing the work that my editor wants – particularly because it often involves restructuring. Staying focussed can be hard, particularly when I’m publicising a current book.  I spend too much time on Twitter when I should be writing.

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

I like to start early and finish at lunch time.  I work in different places depending on the time of year. In the spring, summer and Autumn I use my shed.  In the winter I set up in the spare bedroom.  Now that my children have sort of moved home (they keep coming back!) I have plenty of choice.  I use Voice Recognition software these days so I have to be out of earshot or I get self-conscious. After lunch, I walk for an hour or so, thinking through the next scene or working out solutions to problems (or ways out of corners I’ve written myself into!) I’m lucky to live in such a beautiful part of London.  I don’t work in the evenings because it keeps me awake at night.

How do you go about researching detail and ensuring your books are realistic?

I go to the places and walk and I read round my subject and central theme.  Without giving anything away, to get into Katya’s head, I read memoirs by ordinary women who had been through truly horrible experiences as children.

At the initial research stage of the novel I’m writing currently, I’ve listened to Youtube videos made by people who have left the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  It’s fascinating, shocking and has been a real eyeopener.  I’m hoping to meet a survivor to discuss how it really feels, and have been putting feelers out.

One Little Mistake arises out of quite a prosaic domestic situation. To what extent do you think that everyday life can inspire dramatic fiction? 

I know exactly what you mean.  I’ve written scenes using events that have actually happened to me, only to be told that readers will find it hard to believe.

Domesticity is so much more interesting to me than a glamourous backdrop.  I have no interest in writing thrillers set in huge corporations, politics, or drug cartels.  There are authors who do that brilliantly.  I like the minutiae of family life.  I know from experience that it doesn’t take much to wind a relative up the wrong way.  Crime and murder is so much more interesting when it happens between people who know each other well, don’t you think?

(I do indeed – and I also know exactly what you mean about everyday life being beyond belief at times…)

Trust is a central theme to One Little Mistake. Which came first – the concept of trust and then the narrative, or the narrative and then the exploration of trust – or did one arise naturally out of the other?

I’d say they arose naturally.  I had my premise and an idea or where I wanted the novel to end up.

When you were writing One Little Mistake what techniques did you consciously employ to create such tension?

Write the scene.  Go back and slow it down.  Go back and slow it down some more.  Add detail.  And if I can bear it go back…Something else you can do is reach a crucial point then frustrate your reader by inserting another scene.  It can’t be gratuitous padding, it has to move the plot forward, but the reader will be desperate to get back to the cliffhanger.

How important do you think social media is to authors?

I know that some authors don’t use it and do perfectly well without, but I think it’s increasingly important.  It’s vital to me.  Sad to say, I’m not great at isolation and Twitter and The Prime Writers keep me feeling connected.  As for whether Twitter influences sales, it entirely depends who you ask, or who is giving the Media talk.  Book bloggers are a growing phenomenon and the great thing is that they are connecting more and more with each other and authors both on social media and in the real world.  I was delighted to meet Bloggers in the flesh at Louise Beech’s launch of A Mountain in My Shoe.  Anyone who wants to sell a product needs a decent footprint on the internet and it’s there, it’s free and it’s common sense to use it.  I have no time for people who are snotty about it. (Get quite hot under the collar actually!)

If you hadn’t become an author, what would you have done instead as a creative outlet?

The thought makes me feel panicky!  I have no idea.  I think I’d get very bored. I’ve always liked doing up wrecks so maybe some more of that.

Do you have other interests that give you ideas for writing?

I’m curious about other people’s lives but I don’t know if that came before the writing or developed from it.

(Oh – I think all writers are inherently nosy!)

If you could choose to be a character from One Little Mistake, who would you be and why?

I’d be Jenny.  She is unflappable, down to earth and without pretentions.

If One Little Mistake became a film, who would you like to play Vicky and why would you choose them?

Nicola Walker without hesitation.  Her face is wonderful, all her emotions are written there.  I think she’s an amazing actress.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that One Little Mistake should be their next read, what would you say?

Wow! That is hard. If you don’t count the title this makes 15! Or is that too cheeky?

You’ll love One Little Mistake.  It’s a complex, spinetingling suspense that will keep you up all night.

And what can we expect next from Emma Curtis?

My next novel is a psychological suspense about Joanna, whose Jehovah’s Witness family have shunned her since she left the faith, and Andrew, whose family were murdered twenty-five years ago.  They haven’t seen each other since and when they meet again, it feels right.  Who else could possibly understand what it’s like to be without a family?

The discovery of a corpse means the case is reopened and a fresh look taken at what Andrew did that night.  How badly does Joanna want to believe in his innocence? And how much is she prepared to overlook and excuse?

Crikey – that sounds amazing – I look forward to reading it! Thanks so much for your time in answering my questions Emma.

About Emma Curtis

Emma Curtis was born in Brighton and brought up in London. Her fascination with the darker side of domestic life inspired her to write One Little Mistake, her first psychological suspense. She has two children and lives in Richmond with her husband.

You can follow Emma on Twitter and there’s more with these other bloggers too:

I so loved Andy Jones’ The Trouble with Henry and Zoe, reviewed here, that when I heard he would have another book, Girl 99, published today, 14th February 2017, I had to invite him onto Linda’s Book Bag to tell me more about it. Luckily he agreed to be interviewed!

Published by Lake Union, Girl 99 is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here. As well as interviewing Andy, I’m reviewing Girl 99 too.

Girl 99

When Tom’s girlfriend walks out on him the day before Christmas, he feels humiliated but not necessarily heartbroken. Sadie wasn’t, after all, The One. If we’re being precise, she was number eighty-five.

And so, for reasons that are only mostly wrong, Tom embarks on a mission to bring his number of encounters up to a nice neat one hundred.

Over the course of his quest he sleeps with a colleague, a colleague of a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a friend’s wife, the estate agent selling his flat and several more besides.

Everything is going, if not well, then at least according to plan…and then Tom meets Verity. Whether she’s The One remains to be seen, but she’s certainly more than just another number.

An Interview with Andy Jones

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

Hey, thanks for having me. A little about me? Okay – I’m a husband, a father of two girls, and the owner of two lady cats. So I spend my days surrounded by women of one species or another. I fit my writing around my ‘day job’ as a freelance copywriter. Favourite movie is Forrest Gump (this week, anyway), favourite book is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Oh and I mix a wicked Martini.

Without spoiling the plot, please could you tell us a bit about Girl 99?

In short, it’s a book about love, sex, fidelity, commitment and growing up. In slightly less short, it’s a romantic comedy about a guy called Tom, who, for various reasons (not all bad, honest) is on a mission to sleep with 100 women. But he learns that if you blindly peruse sex, then inevitably, you will miss out on the real prize – love.

I know you have a very busy lifestyle with a family and full time job. What advice would you give to those wanting to write but feeling they don’t have time?

My advice would be quite brutal. You do have the time, you simply have to stop making excuses. You get up early, stay up late, sacrifice the gym, sacrifice TV box sets, sacrifice Thursday night down the pub with your mates. You need to be a bit selfish and a lot obsessive about time. But I promise you, the time is there, you simply have to find it and use it.

As well as your novels, you also write short stories. What are the techniques do you need to employ differently or similarly with longer and shorter fiction?

In short stories, I think readers give you latitude with certain amounts of backstory and character motivation. They are prepared to accept that some things (although not all) simply are. My short stories also tend to be darker than my novels, there are some things I think we can stomach in small doses, but which can become arduous over the long haul. Also, I think readers of novels tend to want a resolution, whereas short stories can exist as open-ended snapshots. Perhaps the biggest difference in the way I approach both forms is in the outlining. For novels, I like to work it all out first. But short stories, I just dive in and see where they take me.

You’ve written about second novel syndrome in the past. What was it like writing your third novel Girl 99 in comparison?

Well here’s the thing about that – Girl 99 was actually my first novel. But I hadn’t found a publisher for it until after the success of The Two of Us and The Trouble With Henry & Zoe. That said, I’m a different writer now than I was when I first wrote Girl 99, so I revised the novel heavily for this official outing. And it was tremendous fun. Perhaps because the story was all worked out, I could concentrate on fleshing out the characters and refining the writing. Fourth novel syndrome, though, well that’s something else entirely – maybe we can discuss that next time.

(We will indeed!)

You’re conscious of having quite a popular name and are sometimes confused with other writers  – have you ever wished to be called something other than Andy Jones and why do you say that?

Well yes and no. I like my name, I definitely feel like an Andy. Although I suppose Jones is a bit bland. But with hindsight, yes, a pen name would have served me well. There are a bunch of books out there by other Andy Joneses – stuff about presidents, farts, burps. All important stuff, of course, but not mine. But if not Any Jones, what? I have a hard enough time naming my characters, let alone myself.

(I’m glad you say that as I find pinning down character names really tricky when I write.)

Your books have been translated into different languages. How involved with that process are you as the author?

I don’t have an awful lot to do with these – the cover designs, for example, happen with no consultation. But it is exciting to receive copies of these new versions through the letterbox. Translation, too, tends to happen without much consultation, although I did have a Swedish editor ask me what a ‘trolley’ was. And – being uninitiated in Cockney Rhyming slang – my US editor was baffled by the idea that one of my characters was ‘Hank Marvin’.

(Maybe ignorance is bliss here!)

Arguably, your books fall into the ‘female fiction’ genre. What is your view of assigning genres to writing and how do you feel about this assessment of your writing?

It’s tricky, isn’t it. I honestly didn’t know there was a genre called ‘female fiction’, so I was surprised to see my books labelled as such. And to be honest, I don’t really know what it means – that my books are more likely to appeal to women than men? If so, then I might debate that point – I’m a fella, after all. And I’ve had great feedback from readers of both sexes.

Genre labels can be useful: ‘horror’, ‘romance’, ‘thriller’ – you know what you’re getting. But others can be quite reductive, I think. ‘Literary’, ‘Chick lit’, ‘lad lit’, don’t tell us much. I write about people and relationships are at the core of my stories. They tend to be funny, too, so it’s fair to say my stories are romantic comedies. So far. My next novel, though, I don’t know if I’d call it romantic. Although it does feature couples struggling with relationships. And there is humour, but it’s dark, so I’d hesitate to call it a comedy. But it’s still me, still my style, still writing about the same things that have always interested me – humans. But would you call my new book a rom-com, no. Would you call it women’s fiction? I doubt it. And that, for me, is part of the issue. So what do we call it? I tend to lean on Contemporary Fiction, because that’s what it is. But I appreciate that this doesn’t help the publishers identify a market. Oh god, am I ranting? Like I said, it’s tricky.

Your writing has relationships at its heart. How do you plot your stories to explore this theme (like Tom’s attempt to reach 100 girls in his life in Girl 99)?

Big question, Linda. Mainly because my process is evolving. With Girl 99, the concept came first – it’s a quick and simple pitch. But from there I had to decide who this story was about, and why he’s driven to behave the way he does. So I spent a lot of time developing his character. From there, I thought about an overarching story flow and began brainstorming scenes, things that could happen off the concept, and situations that would reveal the protagonist’s character. It’s only then, that a theme might emerge – in this case the idea of there being a ‘One’ – a perfect partner – for everybody. And of whether we can find love again after losing that ‘One’ – as in the stories of Doug, El and Tom’s father. And when I have that, everything begins to tighten up. You write more scenes that resonate of the theme, and maybe cull some that don’t. So in this process, I had a very detailed outline running to over a hundred pages and I didn’t deviate much from that.

With my new novel (working title, Four), I am coming at it in a more organic way. I had what I believed to be a terrific set up, one that would have a ripple of consequences, but I didn’t know at the outset what they might be. Again, I investigated the characters, and then laid out some story beats, but this time I stopped short of writing a detailed outline. I bought two cork boards and a stack of index cards and pinned the scenes to the wall. I’m 50,000 words in now and still rearranging, cutting and adding scenes as I go. At the start of each new scene or chapter, instead of turning to my detailed road map, I take down one index card and stare at it until I figure out how to get into the scene, what happens, and how to get out. It’s refreshing, exciting and more than a little terrifying. But I’ll probably stick with this method for a while now – it seems to be working.

I find your writing quite emotional. How far do you have a reader in mind as you write with the intention of evoking an emotional response and how far does your narrative evolve organically?

Thank you, that’s very flattering. I don’t aim for an emotional response, as such – I think if I did that it would come off as contrived. But I try to be honest, to have my characters behave in a human way, rather than a ‘character’ way. And if the premise is right, or conducive, and if the characters are realistic and layered, the emotion will come. I never really know which scenes will best deliver that, they’re seldom the ones I might have identified as ‘emotional’ from the outset. These big scenes – a death, a breakup, a betrayal – they’re daunting to me as a writer, because they’re so easy to screw up. Often the temptation is to swerve them, cut away, have them happen off-screen. But that’s just self-doubt; so I brace myself and go after it. And then fix it in the edit.

How do you go about researching detail and ensuring your books are realistic?

I do desk research initially, but whenever possible I interview people who know or have experienced the thing I’m researching. This year I’ve spent some time with  GP and a marriage counsellor – so make of that what you will.

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

I do almost all of my writing in my office. I’m a freelancer in my day job, so I try to take weeks or fortnights off now and then to work at my books for a concentrated period. But even when I’m ‘day-jobbing’ I never do Mondays – that’s a sacred writing day. Then during the week, I try and fit in a further 3 sessions of about 2-3 hours, either before I leave for work, once I get home or at the weekend. You juggle. But I think about the story every day – fiddling with the outline, making notes, sending emails to myself, researching something.

If you had 15 words to persuade a reader that Girl 99 should be their next read, what would you say?

15! A luxury.

If you don’t buy Girl 99, I’m putting mum in a cold remote nursing home.

(For the sake of your Mum we’d better get buying!)

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

You are so much more than welcome.

My Review of Girl 99

Tom’s on a mission. His best friend El has made him a bet that he can’t sleep with 100 women and, having just split from girlfriend Sadie, Tom accepts the bet.

I have to admit that initially I felt uncomfortable with the premise of Girl 99 that Tom is prepared to work his way through women as sexual partners as if they are a disposable commodity because that felt wrong to me, until I realised that that is the whole point of the book. Tom needs to come to the same conclusion and unless he does, he won’t find contentment. You’ll have to read Girl 99 to find out if this happens!

I love Andy Jones’ lively and engaging style of writing. It’s humorous, conversational and honest so that it’s really effortless to read. He is able to use dialogue in a natural way that makes me feel as if I am eavesdropping conversations rather than reading them on the page. I frequently found myself cringing at El’s language in the restaurant, but equally it was exactly as he would speak.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characterisation too. I really felt I got to know Tom as an individual. He’s endearing, frustrating, an idiot, good friend and a fool so that, much as I wanted to dislike him at times, I simply couldn’t. It’s this characterisation that is the particular strength of Girl 99. I really enjoyed meeting the different characters, especially El and it’s no coincidence that Verity is so named.

I think Girl 99 has something for every reader. Some will enjoy the racier passages and there is quite a bit of sex in this narrative. Some will find (as I did) the parts about the shoot for the advertising campaign highly entertaining. But for me, what I liked most was the exploration of relationships and human emotion. Andy Jones writes with such skill that he manages to encompass a wide range of these relationships without them ever feeling contrived, from the gay partnership between El and Phil, through Bianca’s burgeoning love life, to the senior relationship between Doug and Eileen so that Girl 99 isn’t just about a man on a mission to sleep with 100 women, but is actually about the variety, reality and honesty of relationships.

Girl 99 is not easily definable. Part chick-lit, part contemporary fiction, part lad-lit and part humorous narrative it is, above all, a really good read.

About Andy Jones

Andy Jones lives in London with his wife and two little girls. During the day he works in an advertising agency; at weekends and horribly early in the mornings, he writes fiction.

He is the bestselling author of three novels: The Two of Us, The Trouble With Henry and Zoe, and Girl 99. Additionally he has written a collection of short stories and two picture books for younger readers. His books have been translated into twelve languages.

You’ll find Andy Jones on Facebook and you can follow him on Twitter or visit his website.

I’m absolutely delighted to welcome back Faith Hogan, author of Secrets We Keep, to Linda’s Book Bag. Previously Faith was kind enough to write about creating character and you can read that post here.

Today, to celebrate her latest novel Secrets We Keep, Faith is writing all about  – secrets! Secrets We Keep was published by Aria on 1st February 2017 and is available for purchase in e-book and paperback here.

Secrets We Keep

Two distant relatives, drawn together in companionship are forced to confront their pasts and learn that some people are good at keeping secrets and some secrets are never meant to be kept..

A bittersweet story of love, loss and life. Perfect for fans of Patricia Scanlan and Adele Parks.

The beautiful old Bath House in Ballytokeep has lain empty and abandoned for decades. For devoted pensioners Archie and Iris, it holds too many conflicting memories of their adolescent dalliances and tragic consequences – sometimes it’s better to leave the past where it belongs.

For highflying, top London divorce lawyer Kate Hunt, it’s a fresh start – maybe even her future. On a winter visit to see her estranged Aunt Iris she falls in love with the Bath House. Inspired, she moves to Ballytokeep leaving her past heartache 600 miles away – but can you ever escape your past or your destiny?

Secrets We Keep

A Guest Post By Faith Hogan

It’s an interesting title, I mean we all keep some secrets don’t we? Perhaps not all as far-reaching as those in my new novel, but we all have little secrets. I mean, they’re not actually lies or anything, but they are… vital to keep things on an even keel.

Take relationships, for example – marriage even.

I’m married to the most wonderful man – but I do think  our relationship is just a little bit better thanks to a little mystery, or if you prefer, a few small secrets that are worth keeping. I asked friends of mine, one of them married almost thirty years, what kind of secrets they kept from their other halves, here’s a taste of what they said.

• Never let a man look in your bag.

The reason – men don’t understand basic Feng-shui – or at least not the hand bag version anyway – you know, throw everything in, close it up and then presto, when you open it you can’t find what you’re looking for. We know of course that this encourages us to constantly re-organise.  Re-organising your handbag involves going back to scratch – emptying everything out systematically until you find the said missing item and then dumping everything back in again.

Actually, most men are afraid to look inside your handbag and the ones that aren’t are either a little thick or have an inner handbag fetish. The effect of explaining this to any man results in red face, awkward stammering and the bag being throw down immediately.

• There is nothing healthier than a little revenge.

Now, before we lose the run of ourselves here, we’re talking spoonful’s of revenge – not full on ‘Bobbit’  style vengeance. I mean, is there so much wrong with hiding someone’s car keys after they insulted your driving? And which of us would have really blamed Mrs Woods for smashing Tiger’s clubs over his head in a fit of rage? (Okay, well, that might be a bit extreme,) but you get the idea. In Secrets We Keep one woman gets her revenge in the sweetest way she can think of and I’ll bet you’ll be cheering her when she does!

• It’s okay for him to see your smalls… but…

Yep, you’ve got it, store those big knickers at the bottom of your drawers. Big knickers are a vital weapon in every woman’s armoury. It doesn’t matter how big or small your tummy looks to others, Generally to us – well, it’s going to feel like Scafell Pike, if we have to attend one of his work do’s and we’re expected to mingle with all those bright young skinny things from his office.

• He doesn’t need to know what your friends once called him:

It was unfortunate that he turned up to your first date wearing a mustard jumper with elbow patches and corduroy trousers that were two sizes too big. It was understandable that your friends might have called him Victor Mildrew to begin, but it was all a long time ago now and best forgotten. You don’t really want to hear that his friends called you Nora Batty or Nanny Mc Phee, do you?

Yes, I think some Secrets are definitely worth keeping!

Faith x

About Faith Hogan

Faith Hogan was born in Ireland where she lives in the west with her husband, children, a very fat cat called Norris and a selection of (until recently!) idle writerly mugs and cups. She gained an Honours Degree in English Literature and Psychology from Dublin City University and a Postgraduate Degree from University College, Galway.  She has worked as a fashion model, an event’s organiser and in the intellectual disability and mental health sector.

She was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair – an international competition for emerging writers.

You can follow Faith on Twitter and find her on Facebook. You’ll find her website here.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Anyone who regularly visits Linda’s Book Bag will know that I love a psychological thriller and so I’m delighted today to welcome Susanna Beard, author of Dare To Remember, to tell us all about her research for writing and to be part of the launch celebrations.

Dare To Remember was published by Legend Press on 1 February 2017 and is available for purchase on Amazon.

Dare To Remember

Reeling from a brutal attack that leaves her badly injured and her best friend dead, Lisa flees to the countryside to recuperate. With only vague memories of the event, she isolates herself from her friends and family, content to spend her days wandering the hills with her dog, Riley.

However, Lisa is soon plagued, not only by vivid flashbacks, but questions, too: how did their assailant know them? Why were they attacked? And what really happened that night?

As she desperately tries to piece together the memories, Lisa realises that there’s another truth still hidden to her, a truth she can’t escape from. A truth that may have been right in front of her all along.

Research for Writing

A Guest Post by Susanna Beard

When I was around 17 years old, I mentioned to my father that I’d like to write a novel. I’m not sure whether I was thinking about a career in writing, or if I was simply interested in getting a book published, but I’d always enjoyed creative writing in my English classes at school, and relished using my imagination to make up stories.

My father’s response was to say: “Don’t be silly. You won’t be able to write a novel. There’s so much research to do.” I remember at the time thinking: “Well I like research, so what’s so difficult about that?” Anyway the end result was that I didn’t consider writing as a career, though ultimately I found one which required me to write every day – sometimes all day. I don’t know if I would have taken up novel writing much earlier if my father hadn’t said that, and I don’t blame him for what he said. He had a strange and deep reverence for books; perhaps he just didn’t think that ‘ordinary’ people had the ability to enter that world.

Anyway, when I wrote Dare to Remember, my first novel, I didn’t think much about research: my story is based somewhere in England, my towns, cities and villages are unnamed, coming from my imagination. My characters, too, are fictional. But my plot did need research – and yes, I did very much enjoy the learning process.

Having decided that my protagonist, Lisa, would be suffering from PTSD, I needed to research both the condition and the treatment. I did so via a combination of reading recommended books and interviewing expert, qualified therapists with experience of treating the disorder. This gave me a body of notes, and quotes, and in particular vocabulary and language which were incorporated into my story – not by any means in their entirety, but just enough to provide authenticity. For instance, Lisa eventually recovers from her memory loss in a – cathartic – therapy session, so it was important to know how both therapist and patient would be likely to react.

In her efforts to rebalance her life and to remember the details of the event that almost killed her, Lisa decides to meet her attacker – a young man called Fergus, who is in prison for his crimes. For me, this meant researching restorative justice – the process whereby offenders are helped to rehabilitate through reconciliation with victims. This felt a little daunting as I have no background in law, but it was important for Lisa to gain perspective on the crime and the opportunity for closure.

I found that being an author allowed me access to the experts in a non-threatening way, and, as well as researching online, I met with both the Restorative Justice Council and Victim Support to get an insight into the process. This gave me the knowledge and understanding I needed to make those scenes involving Lisa’s decision to pursue that route convincing.

It’s interesting how you can put many hours into research, only to find that very little detail actually makes it into your story. And that’s the right way to use your research. Like character development, it’s the knowledge and understanding behind the scenes that’s important. It gives you the confidence to hint at a deeper expertise, to use the right words, to demonstrate understanding without the need to explain. Which, I suppose, in a way brings us back to ‘show, not tell.’ But that’s another story.

About Susanna Beard

Susanna lives in Marlow, Buckinghamshire with her two sons and two dogs. She has worked in public relations and marketing since her twenties. As well as walking and adventures, Susanna loves tennis, skiing and hanging out with friends. Dare to Remember is her first novel.

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