1)
Did you
set any goals for 2014?
I did. I was attempting to write book 3 within 9 months,
half the time it took me to write Follow Me, Follow You. I’ve been hampered by
wrist surgery, followed by a frozen shoulder, but I have made progress in all
areas.
2) How long does it take you
to write a 50,000-60,000 word manuscript?
Oh no. It’s a maths question.
My novels are usually in the 90,000 word region, and
realistically, that would take about a year, so … 60,000 words should take about
9 months. My first drafts take the longest, as I edit as I go.
3)
Tell us
about a new author you’ve recently discovered
I recently read The Haunting of Highdown Hall, by Shani
Struthers, and loved it. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
4)
Name two
romances you’ve read more than once
I don’t recall reading any book in its entirety twice, not
as an adult, but I do keep the
ones I loved. I read Folk of the Faraway Tree
countless times as a child.
5)
Tell us
about your first car
My lovely step-dad sold his Saab and with the proceeds
bought my mum a Mini Metro, and my brother and me a Mini Sprite. We shared the
Sprite. It was a brand new A reg, with chunky wheel arches, in dashing red, my
favourite colour. Sprites came in red or yellow and 2500 only were made.
6)
Tell us
something you’ve lied about?
I may have elaborated on the life of the tooth fairy …
7)
Kissing
in public? Yes or no?
My children would say no. I think kissing in public is fine.
Why not?
Follow
Me, Follow You by Laura James
PB: Choc
Lit Paperback and Digital
Release
Date: 7th
September 2014
Blurb:
You save me and I'll save you...
Victoria Noble has pulled the plug on romance. As
director of the number one social networking site, EweSpeak, and single mother
to four-year-old Seth, she wrestles with the work-life balance.
Enter Chris Frampton, Hollywood action hero and
Victoria's first love. His return from LA has sparked a powder keg of media
attention, and with secrets threatening to fuel the fire, he's desperate to
escape.
But finding a way forward is never simple. Although
his connection with Victoria is as strong as when he was nineteen, has he been
adrift too long to know how to move on?
With the risk of them breaking, will either #follow
their heart?
Excerpt:
Victoria
was attempting to create the impression she was engrossed in her work. From the
moment Dan collected Seth, she’d buried her head in buff-coloured files,
raising it once to study her monitor. At that moment, she realised Juliette was
watching her.
‘I’m all right, Joo, honestly.’ That was a lie. She was
preoccupied with thoughts of Chris Frampton returning home, considering ways to
stop EweSpeak’s Board of Directors from travelling a destructive path, and
despairing over her non-existent relationship with her son. She grimaced.
‘Apart from the blinding headache.’
She thrust herself away from the desk and rubbed the back of
her neck. Her life was too cluttered for her to make informed decisions, and
too many demands were being made of her, emotionally and physically. Something
had to give. ‘I could do without this stupid business with the board.’
‘Do you think they’ll go ahead?’
Victoria huffed. ‘Of course they will. They’re motivated by
money. They’ll do whatever it takes to keep their bank accounts full and their
fat backsides comfortable.’
‘But they have a duty of loyalty, and their report states
the move will secure the future of EweSpeak—’
‘It only secures their position, Juliette. Let’s face facts.
We made bad choices, electing certain members to the board. We were blinded by
their past successes. They’re cut-throat businessmen with reputations to
uphold.’ Victoria swung her chair round and gaped at her sister. ‘I’ll bet a
year’s salary there’ll be redundancies.’
‘But if charging clients to join will
increase profits—’
Victoria cut her off again. ‘Did you miss the bit where they
proposed paying celebrities for exclusive bleats? It’s ridiculous. It won’t
work. People will opt out. Our followers enjoy the personal contact, the chance
to hold a discussion with like-minded souls, maybe even exchange a bleat with
their idol. If it’s sensationalism they want, they’ll buy a glossy magazine, or
worse, they’ll flock to our competitors. They won’t subscribe to our network.’
She shook her head. ‘It has disaster written all over it.’
‘I don’t see it. The board’s acting in the company’s best
interest. We have to make money. And it’s not just their pockets they’re
lining, is it?’ Juliette waved a hand in the direction of the window. ‘I don’t
hear you complaining about the flashy, two-seater sports car you’ve parked in
our private garage.’
Victoria reached for the remote on her
desk, and switched on the TV. ‘I need a break.’ She stood, gave her arms a
stretch, and walked across to the sofa, collapsing into it, irascible and
frustrated. Surely Juliette wasn’t voting with the board? Victoria cast her
eyes to the large screen, scoured through the programme guide, and settled on a
news channel.
It was a mistake.
Wherever her eyes fell – the TV,
online, mobile applications – Chris’s then thirty-five-year-old haunted face
appeared, vacant, pale and broken. There was no escape from the dated footage
of him being jostled out of the way of bloodthirsty, aggressive photographers
or being hustled into his ranch house by burly security men. Victoria had seen
the images thirty, maybe forty times in the last couple of years. Every piece
of technology in her office was broadcasting his grief all over again, and each
time his name was typed, bleated, or beamed across the Internet, and for every
second his tormented features were on public display, Victoria was on trial.
Her technology, the company, the brand she had developed and grown was helping
prolong his terror. To see this beautiful man reduced to a floorshow for the
cheap seats made her sick to the stomach.
She jumped at a touch to her arm.
‘Are you okay?’ Juliette took the
remote from Victoria, switched off the TV, and sat down. ‘I’m sorry I called
him your obsession. This must be hard for you.’
Victoria shrugged. Although she
understood Juliette’s concern, she didn’t appreciate intrusion, and sharing,
as her sister called it, was not Victoria’s way. There’d been far too much of
that already. A small shudder ran through her. ‘It’s complicated,’ she said,
hoping a few words, regardless of content, would appease Juliette.
Author Bio:
Laura
is married and has two children. She lives in Dorset, but spent her formative
years in Watford, a brief train ride away from the bright lights of London.
Here she indulged her love of live music, and, following a spectacular Stevie
Nicks gig, decided to take up singing, a passion that scored her second place
in a national competition.
Laura
is a graduate of the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme, a
member of her local writing group, Off The Cuff, and an editor of the popular Romaniacs
blog.
Laura
was runner-up twice in the Choc Lit Short Story competitions. Her story Bitter
Sweet appears in the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Anthology. Truth
or Dare?, Laura’s debut novel, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic
Fiction Best Romantic eBook 2013 and the 2014 Joan Hessayon New Writers’ Award.
Follow me, follow you is Laura’s first Choc Lit novel published in
paperback.
Book Trailer
http://youtu.be/wWrG6tXmsIY
The Giveaway on this tour will be a paperback copy
of the book.
RAFFLECOPTER CODES
Laura is waiting to chat! Questions? Comments??
Rachel! Hello! Thank you for inviting me to your gorgeous blog. I LOVE your banner. :D
ReplyDeleteGreat interview ladies!!! Thanks for hosting today Rachel. x
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