Hi Natalie! So pleased to welcome you to my blog to talk about you and your latest release, HONEY BUN - Let's kick off with my questions...
1.) What was your first job? Did you like or
dislike it? Why?
I worked at Marks & Spencer in their head office in Baker Street. I did occasional stints in the
post room while learning to be a distributor – the merchandise didn’t get to
all those stores in a random way. I absolutely loved my time there and only
left because it was felt I would benefit from taking a secretarial course. It
was planned that I should return but I never did of course. Just as an aside,
my boss told me my handwriting was like little fly dirts. It hasn’t improved!
2.) Do you have a pet peeve? If so what is it?
I used to have a pet but now
I don’t so does that count as a peeve? Otherwise, yes, I had grammar and
punctuation drummed into me at school so my peeve is in fact twofold. The first
is that errors jump off the page at me and can spoil the enjoyment of what I’m
reading. The second is a knowledge that, because language is constantly
changing, what used to be wrong is now acceptable and while some of the things I
write scream at me ‘No, you can’t say that!’ it’s something that has to be
overcome or writing becomes stilted. Thank you, Miss Gawthrop! Yes, that was
indeed my English teacher’s name.
3.) Would you describe your style as shabby chic,
timeless elegance, eclectic, country or ____?
Well, naturally I’d like to
think timeless elegance applies here but the truth is it’s pretty eclectic.
Circumstances alter cases.
4.) Tell me about your book, Honey Bun, and where
you got your inspiration for it?
The book is a contemporary
romance with a bit of angst thrown in. Hero and heroine have known each other
since childhood. He leaves. He comes back. But does the path to true love run
smoothly? Of course it doesn’t. My inspiration comes from an area I love and
have much visited – the Cotswolds. Honey lives in a town where she runs a
teashop and the buildings cocoon one in honey-coloured stone (would you believe
I’ve only just noticed Honey and honey!). Been to the teashops. Seen the
buildings. What’s not to love? Oh, and by the way, the hero is an architect,
and that is part of the problem.
5.) Who is your role model? Why?
I love Jill Mansell’s books
and, while Honey
Bun is not in her style, she was there in the background. Why? Because I
always love her heroines. They are invariably women with whom the reader can
empathise. You can always put yourself in their place.
6.) How much of your book is realistic?
The setting is an
amalgamation of several of the lovely places I have visited. The care home (one
of the angsty bits) was based on the wonderful establishment where my own
mother spent her last years. The story? I leave that to my readers to judge.
7.) What are your ambitions for your writing
career?
Having written three
contemporary romances – two are published, the third is with my lovely agent,
Lisa Eveleigh - I have changed tack. Brought up as so many of us were on the
delights of Georgette Heyer, whose novels I have read over and over and over
again, I have taken the plunge and begun writing a historical romance set in
the Regency period. I am over half way through at the moment and, if this
doesn’t sound overly romantic, I feel as if I’ve come home. My ambition would
be to continue in this genre that I so enjoy writing as well as reading.
8.) Share one fact about yourself that would
surprise people.
I was once a passenger in a
glider. Only once, mind you. Flying was great. Landing? The ground comes up to
meet you awfully quickly!
Links:
Blog:
Blurb:
When Guy Ffoulkes walks into Honeysuckle
Bunting’s teashop after an absence of fourteen years her world goes out of
sync. Guy was her brother’s best friend; she was Basil’s scruffy younger
sister. For Honey Bun though there had always been more…
Honey had been heartbroken as Guy, kissing the top of her head in brotherly fashion, left Rills Ford to go to university. So why was he back now, standing in her shop? When Honey learns the reason for his reappearance, her excitement at seeing him again swiftly turns to dismay.
Honey had been heartbroken as Guy, kissing the top of her head in brotherly fashion, left Rills Ford to go to university. So why was he back now, standing in her shop? When Honey learns the reason for his reappearance, her excitement at seeing him again swiftly turns to dismay.
Biog:
Natalie has been writing for sixteen years and her first two novels, Safe
Harbour and Honey
Bun,
were published in 2014. Her third, also a contemporary romance, is with her
agent, Lisa Eveleigh of the Richford
Becklow Literary Agency. She is currently writing a Regency-based romance
and wishes she could live between the pages of her book if only to wear the
beautiful dresses that were fashionable at the time.
Links:
Blog:
Thank you very much for featuring me on your blog,
Rachel. It’s been great fun answering your questions.
Thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog. Today the sun is shining and I can truly imagine myself taking tea at Honey's and enjoying the 'softness' of the view. Chocolate cake, anyone?
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