Book after Book

By Stephanie Butland Published by Zaffre Synopsis: Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you. Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories. Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story? How did this book end up in my hands? I was browsing the Borrow Box app and the cover of this book caught my eye so I decided to download the audiobook. Was it a page-turner? This is not a thriller so I took my time enjoying the unfolding of the story. My pace did however increase towards the end,...

Hi Stephanie ! I have recently read Lost for Words , which was published in 2017, and I would love to know more about its behind-the-scenes! First of all, can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: It’s the story of Loveday, a young woman hiding away from life by working in a second-hand bookshop. When she finds an abandoned poetry book in the street, she begins a chain of events that leads to her confronting her past.  Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: I had a strong sense of Loveday’s character and background, and I knew it was going to be about second-hand books and the messages that they bring. Apart from those elements, I figured it out as I went along.  Are there any autobiographical elements woven into the fictional lives of your characters? A: Yes and no. I don’t make the decision to write from my own life, but my own experience is ce...