1)
Did you
set any goals for 2012?
I always set goals at the start of the year. It makes me
excited about the year ahead. Of course, sometimes they change… This year, I
wanted to focus on working towards the release of my first two novels, Room for
Love and An A to Z of Love, and complete and submit the third novel in my Love
from Wales series, currently called Summer of Love. And, well, it’s getting
there slowly!
2)
What is
the best part of the writing process for you?
Developing ideas. I love that first stage, where everything
I hear and see gives me story ideas, and I spend days scribbling in my
notebooks, trying to keep up with my thoughts.
3)
The worst
part?
Editing. I have to keep reminding myself, as I read the same
chapter again and again, that I’m improving my story, making it stronger for
the readers.
4)
What is
the book you wish you’d written?
Welcome to Temptation by Jenny Crusie. It’s such a fantastic
romance, a great community story, and just a whole lot of fun!
5)
Favourite
author/s & book/s?
I love M M Kaye’s romantic murder mysteries, and anything by
Jenny Crusie, Victoria Dahl or India Grey.
6)
Tell us
about your latest release?
An A to Z of Love is the companion novel to my first book,
Room for Love, but they can both be read alone, or in any order. It’s the story
of Mia Page, subject of gossip in the seaside town of Aberarian for half her
life, ever since her father ran off with his secretary - and the contents of
the town museum safe - when she was fourteen. Despite this, Mia loves her
hometown; loves working at the A to Z shop, eating seafood with her best friend
Charlie at his restaurant, and catching the classic midnight movie at the
crumbling Coliseum cinema. And wondering if one day Charlie might be more than
a friend.
But everything she loves is suddenly under threat from her
ex-best friend, and Charlie’s ex-girlfriend, Becky, who plans to turn Mia’s
beloved Coliseum into a casino, and her sleepy hometown into a less classy,
Welsh, Atlantic City.
7)
Tease us
with a blurb/short except
Sighing, she
grabbed Ditsy’s book off the coffee table. Maybe some irrelevant love advice
from the fifties might help. At this point, Mia was willing to take inspiration
from anywhere.
Cracking it
open at a random page, Mia read the first entry aloud. “B. Never go to bed
angry--it makes for furious dreams.” Not particularly helpful. Still, she read
on.
My husband and
I, the writer announced, a little pompously, never go to bed without a few
sweet words, and an ever sweeter kiss. Nothing makes the morning brighter than
going to bed feeling loved.
Which was all
very well for the author and her husband, but less helpful for a single girl
struggling to save a cinema.
She flipped
forward through the pages, pausing at H--The home really is where the heart
is!--, P--Patience is an underrated virtue--and U--The most important thing
about love is that it must be unconditional--before putting the book aside with
a sigh.
Whatever help
Ditsy expected her to find in the book, it clearly wasn’t to do with saving the
Coliseum.
As she sat
staring out of her window at the darkened Aberarian skies, her phone rang, and
she answered without looking at the screen. “I’m relaxing, Ditsy, I swear.”
“No you’re
not,” Charlie answered, and Mia sat up straight, blanket falling down to her
waist. “I can hear it in your voice.”
“Ditsy’s been
nagging me,” she said, tucking the blanket more securely around her.
“So I
gathered.” Charlie sounded amused. “She called me to ask me to check up on you.
Had a theory you might still be stressing out.”
“I’ve been
relaxing! I’ve had a bath, I’ve read a book, I’m putting my feet up on the
sofa.” Mia leaned against the arm of her chair and pulled her feet up, so she
wasn’t technically lying.
“And I bet you
haven’t stopped worrying about tomorrow’s exhibition the whole time.”
Mia didn’t have
an answer that wasn’t a lie for that one, so she stayed quiet.
On the other
end of the line, Charlie gave a low laugh. “Get some sleep, Mia. I promise you
whatever battles you want to fight will still be there tomorrow.”
She was tired,
Mia supposed. And she needed to be well-rested if she was going to come up with
a constructive argument against Becky’s casino. “Yeah, all right. I’ll see you
tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
Charlie’s voice was husky, and she wondered briefly where he was before she
decided she didn’t want to know. If he was in bed alone, she didn’t care,
because they were just friends. And if he was in bed with Becky...then she
really didn’t want to think about it.
“Sweet dreams,”
Charlie said, and hung up.
Mia flipped
Ditsy’s book open one last time, and it landed on T. “Trust,” Mia read, “is the
bedrock of any relationship.”
Well, Mia
trusted Charlie was having a great time with his ex-girlfriend. And she trusted
Becky to break his heart any time now.
She wondered
what that said about her relationship limestone.
8)
What is
your favourite attribute of the hero and heroine?
I love that Mia never gives up fighting, even when
everything seems impossible. And that Charlie loves her enough to fight right
alongside her. Even when her plans seem crazy!
9)
What’s
next?
I’m working on the third part of my Love from Wales series
now, which will hopefully feature glimpses of what the future holds for the
characters from the first two books. I’m really enjoying working on it.
10)
Tell me
where you write?
At the moment, at a tiny desk in my spare room. But we’re
moving house this summer, and the new house has an actual study… that I have to
share with my husband. Still, I’m very excited, and imagine I’ll be posting
lots of photos on my website when I get it how I want it!
11)
Where
would you like your career to be in 5 years?
I just want to keep writing more and better romances!
12)
Where can
we find you?
I blog about cake, castles and (occasionally) writing at www.SophiePembroke.com. I’m on Twitter
as Sophie_Pembroke, and on Facebook and Goodreads too.
*****
Everyone’s talking about Mia Page. Again.
Mia Page has been the subject of gossip in
Aberarian for half her life, ever since her father ran off with his
secretary–and the contents of the local museum safe–when she was fourteen.
Still, Mia loves her hometown, loves
working at the A to Z shop, eating seafood with her best friend Charlie at his
restaurant, catching the classic midnight movie at the crumbling Coliseum
cinema. And if she ever wonders if things might be even better if Charlie were
more than just a friend, well, it’s only an idle thought in a lonely moment.
After all, friendship always trumps romance, doesn’t it? And she’s never been
one to rock the boat.
But everything she loves is suddenly under
threat from Charlie’s ex- girlfriend, Becky, and her plans to turn Mia’s
beloved Coliseum into a casino, transforming the sleepy seaside town forever.
As Mia tries to pull the people of Aberarian together to save the town they
adore, she starts to find her own place in the community, a family of sorts,
and maybe even love. Until her father suddenly reappears, and people start asking
what he wants to take from them this time…
WARNING: Some sexual scenes. Also contains
seafood.
*****
Sophie
Pembroke has been writing romance for years, ever since she stayed up all night
reading Mills and Boon novels as part of her English degree at Lancaster
University. She loves to set her contemporary romance stories in the places she
has lived – from the wilds of the Welsh mountains, to the gentile humour of the
English country village, or the heat and tension of a London summer. She also
has a tendency to make her characters kiss in castles. Currently, she makes her home in Hertfordshire, with her husband and daughter. She writes love stories in her little spare room office, while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. Or, when things are looking very bad for her heroes and heroines, white wine and dark chocolate.
Sophie keeps a blog at www.SophiePembroke.com, which should be about romance and writing, but is usually about cake and castles instead.
LINKS:
Web & Blog: www.SophiePembroke.com
Twitter: @Sophie_Pembroke - https://twitter.com/#!/Sophie_Pembroke
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100003136928151
An A to Z of Love: http://sophiepembroke.com/love-from-wales-series/an-a-to-z-of-love/
Love from Wales Series: http://sophiepembroke.com/love-from-wales-series/
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