Welcome Choc Lit author, Sue McDonagh...



 Hi Sue! It's a pleasure to welcome you to my blog for the very first time - I am looking forward to learning more about you and your books. Let's get started with my questions...


1.)              What is the strangest talent you have? *Haha, I can play the spoons, does that count? Also, I have a wonky eye that I can wiggle at will… Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that. You’ll be looking for it now…

2.)              What is the best Halloween costume you’ve ever worn? *I sprayed my hair green for one party and had to go to work the next day with hair still bearing a distinct green tinge, even after a shower. I was a policewoman at the time. My Inspector wasn’t impressed. I had to man the front desk that day too…

3.)              Are the titles of your books important? *I used to think so, and I’m still not sure. I had all my titles worked out, with a theme of motorcycle parts, but my publisher re-named them to make them more accessible to readers who didn’t know anything about bikes. I’m sure they’re right. I’m subscribing to the view that it’s my job to write the book and their job to sell it.

4.)              If you’re struggling with a scene or difficult character, what methods help you through it? *In order of how sticky my problem is, I go for a walk, have a coffee, a shower (that often does it!) or get the Sharpies and flip chart out, and do a sort of mind map thingie. After that, I talk to another author. Sometimes that just confirms that I’m on the right track. Sometimes, it confirms that I need to steer in a different direction!
5.)              Do you prefer dog, cats or none of the above? *I’ve owned both, and love both! I have a border terrier called Scribble, who comes to work with me in my painting studio. He loves all the customers, and believes they only come in to see him. Sometimes I think he’s right.

6.)              Who’s your favourite author? Why? *I’m very eclectic in my reading. I read in my own genre, and crime thrillers, and contemporary literature. I just read a Maggie o’Farrell that has been in my Kindle for a year and was blown away by the sparity of the prose. Nothing wasted. I’m currently catching up on Sue Moorcroft, and love her ability to storytell and get you straight into it. I love Peter May for his Blackhouse trilogy, and Jane Harper for those Australian crime dramas.

7.)              Do you have a pet peeve? *As I get older, I seem to have more of those, but middle lane drivers!! And text-drivers! Bah. Don’t get me started.

8.)              Do you remember your dreams when you wake up in the morning? *I often do. Sometimes they’re so real, I think it’s happened, and it can make me grouchy all day with the person in my dream. Reading back over these questions, I look a bit mad, don’t I? Maybe you have to be a bit mad to write…



Blurb for Summer at the Art Cafe: 
If you won a gorgeous purple motorbike, and your domineering husband said you were too fat for leathers and should sell it, would you do as you were told – or learn to ride it in secret?
Artist and café owner Lucy Daumier intends to do just that – but learning to ride is far from easy, especially under the critical eye of prickly motorcycle instructor, Ash Connor.
But gradually Lucy gets the hang of it, and in the process re-discovers the girl she used to be. So starts an exciting summer of new friendships and fun – as well as a realisation that there is more to Ash than meets the eye when she is introduced to his seven-year-old daughter, Daisy.
But can Lucy’s new-found happiness last when a spiteful family member wants to see her fail? 

Blurb for Meet Me at the Art Cafe: 

Would you take a chance on a bad boy with a leather jacket and a vintage motorbike?

That’s the question single mum Jo Morris has to ask herself when she collides with local bike mechanic Ed Griffiths on a rainy Welsh hillside. Working at the Art Café, Jo hears the gossip and is all too aware of Ed’s reputation. 

But whilst he’s certainly no angel, there is something about Ed’s daredevil antics that Jo can’t ignore. And as she gets to know him better and watches the kind way he deals with her young son Liam, she begins to wonder – is there more to this ‘bad boy’ than meets the eye? 

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