Hi, Sylvia! It's great to have you here and to be a part of your tour - I'm looking forward to learning more about you and your work. Let's kick off with my questions...
1.)
What is the strangest talent you have?
I can guess who the killer is in any film within ten
minutes of the beginning. My family makes me write my predictions on pieces of
paper and look at them after it’s over. 98% of the time I’m right.
2.)
What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever
worn?
A fake, traditional Chinese dress I bought from Camden
market in London for £15. It was red, very tight everywhere, made from
polyester, but looked deliciously real. It was fun for a day but I’m so glad we
don’t have to wear this kind of clothes anymore.
3.)
Are the titles of your books important?
Absolutely. It takes me ages to think them, and I
usually discard the first twenty ideas until the “right” one comes along. “Prosecco
Christmas” was named after the idea to bunch together one British family and
one Italian over the Christmas holidays under the same roof. It was so much fun
to write.
That doesn’t mean mistakes have not been made with my book titles. My first book “Pot Love” was a play on words with the phrase “pot luck” and the fact that my two main characters find love by chance. I didn’t know at the time that “pot” means marihuana in the USA. I’ve had some awkward twitter chats over the subject, I can tell you.
4.)
If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult
character, what methods help you through it?
Getting stuck is a daily occurrence for me so I have
many “tricks” up my sleeve. Reading other peoples’ books, cooking, going for a
run, asking my family for ideas, asking other authors for ideas, lying on the
floor with my eyes closed and thinking I’ll never solve this, drinking tea,
eating biscuits, drinking wine, eating chocolate… I can go on but you get the
idea. Every little helps and if it doesn’t I move on. I only get back to that part
of the book when I have an idea.
5.)
Do you prefer dog, cats or none of the above?
I love cats! I have a cat called Squeaky because of
the funny way she meows. She is black, and adorable, and I can’t imagine life
without her.
6.)
Who’s your favourite author? Why?
Margaret Atwood for her wit and charming prose. But I
read a book a day, because after writing, reading is my favourite pastime so
there are many, many authors I love spending time with.
7.)
Do you have a pet peeve?
I have a bit of OCD so straight lines and order are
important for me. When I get stressed it peeks and I start arranging spoons in
drawers and books on shelves by colour and size. Luckily, that rarely happens
but I still have the best-looking bookshelves in town.
8.)
Do you remember your dreams when you wake up in
the morning?
I do remember my dreams. I used to have huge dreams,
Hollywood super productions with cast, and crew, and scripts. I used to dream
so much I’d wake up tired. Ever since I started writing I don’t dream anymore.
I exhaust my imagination during the day and I sleep like a log at night.
The best jobs in the world tire you in exactly the way
your mind and body needs.
Writing it the best job in the world for me.
Blurb: Family is where life begins.
And what better time to spend with your family than Christmas week?
Ashley and Giacomo go to Upper Swainswick, a postcard village ten minutes’ drive from Bath, to stay with Ashley’s mum and stepdad. It’s their last visit before the arrival of their first child.
But babies have a habit of being unpredictable.
So when Ashley goes into labour on Christmas Eve, three weeks ahead of schedule, it takes everyone by surprise.
She’s not ready! Her perfect Birth Plan is packed away in her hospital bag two hundred miles away, she has no going home outfit, and she has a live event planned for New Year’s Eve for her YouTube channel, The Sinking Chef. People have been signing up for it for weeks. She can’t possibly disappoint them on the last day of the year. What is she to do?
The tinsel gets even more tangled when Giacomo’s parents decide to fly from Italy to meet their first grandchild. Hotels are fully booked, so everyone has to stay under the same roof.
Would eleven people in the house, not counting the baby, turn out to be simply too much for Ashley?
“Another
contraction hits me and my belly gets really tight and uncomfortable. I brace
myself to endure it.
‘Darling!’
Mum bursts into the room and swoops in on me like a Kitchen Aid on whipping egg
whites. ‘What’s going on? Giacomo tells me you’re in labour.’
‘I think so,’ I say. Mum sits on the
bed and thoughtfully pokes my tummy a few times. I really wish she wouldn’t.
‘The baby has definitely turned,’ she
says. ‘All good. All good.’
Thing
is, Mum has had three kids – me and my two half-brothers, so she thinks she’s
an expert on all things baby and birth-related. I don’t think so, but we’ve
already had loads of arguments on foods and napping, so I’ve kind of given up
reasoning with her.
I
count to ten, then pull down the top over my belly decisively.
‘We’d better get go—’
‘Have you timed the contractions?’ Mum
turns towards Giacomo.
Typical Mum. She thinks that the only
people that can be trusted to measure things accurately are men.
‘Five minutes and forty seconds apart,’
I force myself to tell her
patiently. Inside I’m already screaming, “Get me to a hospital!”
‘Oh, we have plenty of time.’ She pats
me on the hand and gets up from the bed. ‘I’ll get the coffee going.’
‘Mum! I need to go now. I don’t even
know where the hospital is.’
‘Don’t worry, darling. The hospital is
just on the other side of Bath. Thirty minutes tops. Michael and I will ride in
the car with you. It’s going to be all right. Trust me.’
Giacomo and I exchange glances.
‘It’s fine, Samantha,’ Giacomo tells
her. ‘Ashley and I can do this on our own.’
‘Don’t be silly.’ Mum tightens the belt
of her silky bathrobe. ‘Of course we’ll come. It’s the least we can do.’
I
squeeze my eyes tight. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
‘Now,
anyone for coffee?’ Mum turns from the door.
Just
then another contraction grips me. It’s like someone trying to stretch
and twist my pelvic bones all at the same time.
‘Ow.
Ow. Ow! OW!’ I twist and turn in bed.
This
one is bad. I didn’t even know it could hurt that much.
‘Aaaaaaagh!’ Is this even normal? It
doesn’t feel normal. ‘Ungh.’
They did mention lots of pain relief
methods at the antenatal
classes, so I figured it was going to hurt some.
But this much? This much is a lot!
Mum has gone very silent at the door.
‘On second thoughts, it might be better
if we get going. We can always have coffee at the hospital.’
She rushes down the stairs. Result.”
Author bio: Sylvia
Ashby is fond of the written word: books, blog posts, recipes, even an
explanation to the HM Revenue & Customs as to why she thinks skirts should
be exempt from VAT - she's written it all!
She likes travelling and has lived all over Europe - London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Sofia, Bulgaria. Currently, she lives in Leuven, Belgium with her husband, daughter, son and a sparrow called Jack, who comes occasionally to peck the seeds she leaves for him on top of the garden shed.
She likes travelling and has lived all over Europe - London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Sofia, Bulgaria. Currently, she lives in Leuven, Belgium with her husband, daughter, son and a sparrow called Jack, who comes occasionally to peck the seeds she leaves for him on top of the garden shed.
Website: http://www.sylvia-ashby.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bysylvia_a
GIVEAWAY!!
3x eCopies of Prosecco Christmas
International
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