Book after Book

Can a mirror somehow hold traces of all the people who have looked into its glassy surface - whether for a quick glance or a longer inspection?  John must have seen himself a thousand times in this mirror – going out of the front door in the morning, on his way upstairs like she was just now. It must have an image of him locked away somewhere in its depths. Why, then, when what she wants more than anything else in the world is a glimpse of him, does it refuse to give her anything but her own, blank face? - after you'd gone , by Maggie O'Farrell The extractor fan whirrs while I polish the mirror my mother probably looks in every morning – does she still look, I wonder? And if she does, does she recognise herself there? My own face is close to the glass as I work. I breathe on the mirror, then rub it with my cloth to shine it. Is there something of Mum’s reflection left behind the glass? Or inside it, maybe? Merging with mine now as I rub and rub? - The Weaning , by Hanna...

By Hannah Vincent Published by Salt Synopsis: When professional couple Nikki and Rob uncover their childminder Bobbi's secret everything changes. Bobbi has a child-shaped hole in her life that her 'silver fox' lover can't fill. Now she is seeking out children once more. Troubled young couple Kim and Connor are battling with social services to keep their baby, Jade - but they needn't worry, Bobbi soon arrives to help solve all their problems. How did this book end up in my hands? One of the lovely book publicists at Salt mentioned this book on Twitter and I jumped at the chance of requesting a copy to review. The fact that the author lives in Brighton was part of the appeal. Was it a page-turner? Yes, from the very beginning. I wouldn’t call it fast-paced, necessarily, but I would be very surprised if you didn’t want to keep turning those pages once you start reading. There will be things that won’t convince you, details that won’t add up and you wi...

Hi Hannah ! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Weaning . Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: Thank you, Silvia. Sometimes I answer this question by saying that the book is about a psychotic childminder but it is also about a childminder and her immense capacity for love. It’s also a book about my love affair with writing. 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 don’t plan my writing but I always know where it is heading. I know the destination scene but there are adventures and detours along the way and sometimes the destination looks different to the way it looked at the start of a project – does this answer your question? Your debut novel, Alarm Girl , was published by Myriad Editions. The Weaning is published by Salt. How did your new book deal come about and how did you ...