.)
What was your first job? Did you like or
dislike it? Why?
I worked in a little shop in
my local town. I was there for three years, and I kind-of went up and down with
it. There were good times when I couldn’t wait to get to work and bad times
when I was desperate to phone in sick. Overall, it was really good for me, it
increased my confidence and I got to meet an interesting lot of people, and I
wouldn’t have changed it for the world!
2.)
Do you have a pet peeve? If so what is it?
Probably noise. I’m really
sensitive to noise, I can’t concentrate if the TV’s on too loud and I hate
background noise, I don’t know how people can write with music playing because
I just get distracted by it!
3.)
Would you describe your style as shabby chic,
timeless elegance, eclectic, country or ____?
Style? What style?! I don’t
do style, I’m afraid – it’s all about comfort! At home, I wear tracksuit
bottoms and baggy t-shirts, so definitely shabby chic with an emphasis on
shabby! I’ve never really had a style when it comes to clothes, home décor,
etc. Stuff that I like and that I’m comfortable in is the closest I come to
style!
4.)
Tell me about your book, The Chateau of Happily
Ever Afters, and where you got your inspiration for it?
The story centres around Wendy
who, until now, has been living a very safe life, she never goes anywhere new
or meets new people, she uses her comfort zone to protect herself from being
hurt again, and then she finds out that she’s inherited this gorgeous chateau
in France. Her elderly neighbour always told her stories about it, she called
it ‘the chateau of happily ever afters’ because she believed it would help
anyone who lived there find love. But there’s a catch - Wendy’s not the only
person who’s inherited the place. The nephew of the elderly neighbour thinks he
has a claim to it as well, and when Wendy throws herself headfirst out of her
comfort zone to go and visit it, she finds she’s not alone. Julian is there
too, and neither of them are about to leave… Unless she can force him out. The
story starts off with them butting heads as they both try to make each other
leave, but they might be about to find out that there’s more to the chateau’s
nickname than just a soppy old story…
I don’t really know where
the inspiration came from for this one. I’d been playing around with the idea
of setting a story in an old, crumbling French chateau for a while, but nothing
had ever fitted the setting. I knew I had to come up with a new book idea for
my publisher, so I was lying in the bath one night last summer and going over
potential plots in my head, and the idea of these two fighting over an
inheritance just popped into place in the chateau I’d been thinking about for a
while!
5.)
Who is your role model? Why?
I don’t think I have one. I
find lots of people inspirational for different reasons, but no one person
comes to mind!
6.)
How much of your book is realistic?
Well, none of it’s based on
real life (unfortunately – I certainly wouldn’t mind inheriting a chateau!) but
it’s all realistic, there’s no fantasy elements and it’s definitely something
that could actually happen! The book is set in Normandy, and although the
chateau itself and the village is fictional, it’s all based on a real part of
Normandy where I did my research, so hopefully it feels realistic!
7.)
What are your ambitions for your writing
career?
Like any author probably –
I’d love to be a number one bestseller! Honestly, I’m absolutely thrilled to be
published, and having an editor believe in me enough to put the time and effort
into working on this book with me has been amazing. In the future, I’d love to
make the Amazon top 10, and I’d love to see my book in paperback on shop
shelves, but mostly I’d just like people to enjoy the story. Nothing makes an
author feel as good as a lovely review, and knowing people like these
characters I created and the journey they go on, that’s all that really
matters!
8.)
Share one fact about yourself that would
surprise people.
I trained as a nail
technician, although I never actually worked as one, I still love all things
nails. Mine are always long and the question I get asked most often is “how do you
type with nails like that?”
Bio:
Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an
awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening,
watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering
marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs
from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates
spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much
time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.
She will never have time to read all the books she wants to
read.
She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedies The Chateau
of Happily Ever Afters and Kismetology, and she has also written young-adult
romantic comedies Afterlife Academy, Not Pretty Enough, and North Pole Reform
School.
Author links:
The Chateau of
Happily Ever Afters:
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y69QZGP
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y69QZGP
Will also be available from all other ebook retailers.
Blurb:
Where dreams come true…?
Wendy Clayton stopped believing in
fairy tales a long time ago. Instead, she has a ‘nice’ life. Nice job. Nice
flat. Absolutely no men. Until her life is turned
upside-down when her elderly neighbour, Eulalie, passes away and leaves her the Château of Happily Ever Afters!
But there’s a catch: she must
share the sprawling French castle with Eulalie’s long-lost nephew, Julian. And
no matter how gorgeous he is, or how easily she finds herself
falling head over heels, Wendy needs to find a way to get rid of him…
Because surely happily ever
afters don’t happen in real life?
Escape to beautiful France this
summer with this uplifting romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Kat French,
Caroline Roberts, and Holly Martin.
Giveaway:
French-themed stationery goodie bag.
1 x Paperchase Paris notebook and pen
1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters notebook
1 x little Eiffel Tower model
1 x Eiffel Tower bookmark
1 x The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters magnet
1 x Signed postcard
Thanks for being part of the tour, Rachel!
ReplyDelete