Book after Book

Hi Juliet! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Faithful, which I loved! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about?

A: The novel is set in the run-up to the Second World War and it’s a love story that follows the lives of Hazel and Tom, who are teenagers when they first meet in 1935. They come from two very different families, but there is an instant connection between them. This was a turbulent time for British politics, and Hazel is drawn into the dark world of the British blackshirt movement, just as Tom is breaking his ties with the party. Let’s just say their romance turns out to be far from straightforward as the years pass and their lives take different paths...

Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing or did it develop before your eyes as the characters grew on the page and did something that you were not expecting?

A: I had very little plot in mind. Just the setting – the Sussex coast and London – and a handful…

By Virginie Grimaldi
Published by Headline Review

Synopsis: Julia's not running away. Not exactly. She just needs a break from Paris and Marc and all the sad stuff that's been going on lately. A little time to pull herself together.

The job offer felt like a lifeline. But now she's back in Biarritz, suitcase in hand, she hasn't the faintest idea what she was thinking. 

What Julia doesn't yet know is there's more to the odds and ends of Ocean View than meet the eye. Behind the double doors lie broken hearts, lifelong secrets, a touch of romance and an unwavering passion for life. And sometimes it's the most unlikely of places and people who help you find your way.

How did this book end up in my hands? One of the publisher’s lovely publicists kindly sent me a copy of the book to review, inclusive of pretty postcard and sweet treat!

Was it a page-turner? Not in the way that a thriller could be but you can’t help getting attached to all the characters and wanting to …

Hi Emma! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Songs of Us, which I loved! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about?

A: Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it. The Songs of Us is about the King family and how they deal with the difficulties life throws at them.It’s written from the perspectives of Melody and her two teenagers, Flynn and Rose, who have been given a rough deal in life.

For starters, Flynn was involved in a car accident when he was younger, which left him blind in one eye with facial scarring. His red-headed sister, Rose, who is teased relentlessly at school, is obsessed with finding their father, Dev, who disappeared years before without a trace.And if that is not enough, they have a mother who has a condition similar to Tourette’s who sings and dances uncontrollably when she’s anxious, much to their - and the reader’s - embarrassment!

Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing or did it develop before your ey…