Hi Kerry! Thank you so much for being on 23 Review Street and for asking me to be part of your blog tour! I am really excited about being able to red your lovely new book ‘The Island Escape’.
Thank you so much for taking part…it’s lovely to be here!
Would you be able to tell us a bit about your new book and how the idea came about?
The Island Escape grew from two things. I noticed that when people were getting divorced, it often had a domino effect in their friendship groups, so I came up with the idea of ‘Can one woman’s marriage survive her best friend’s divorce?’ I also became fascinated by the fact that when people reach the age of about forty, they start to take stock of their lives. I get the impression that most people don’t feel they’ve ended up with the life they had envisaged when they were twenty!
Both of your books are very different from each other, which one has been your favourite to write and why?
That’s like being asked to say which of your children you love most! I did love writing The School Gate Survival Guide because at the time, my children were quite young and I really enjoyed shutting myself off into a world where I could make people do what I wanted, when I wanted! With The Island Escape, I enjoyed the challenge of writing from two points of view and also of writing a character (Roberta) whom I would never choose as a friend in real life.
What does your writing day consist of?
I drop my children at school at eight o’clock and drive straight to Starbucks, where I write for three hours, usually 1000 words. I have to work there, otherwise the dog sees me sitting down and dances about, wanting to be entertained. When I get home, I do any marketing or publicity work and write a little bit more if I can.
Octavia (one of your main characters) has always pictured a different life where she travelled the world. If you could picture living in any exotic place where would it be?
If I was a bit younger, I’d love to live in Australia – I love the space, the idea of living in a city on the water like Sydney, the can-do attitude, the sunshine, the exotic wildlife. Now, as my parents are getting older, I wouldn’t want to be that far away. Tuscany would be an excellent alternative.
I love the covers of your books, especially ‘The Island Escape’ with its wonderful summer theme and gorgeous colours. Do you get much of a say in the design?
Happily, I don’t get much say at all, which is just as well because designing a cover is such an enormous responsibility. The team at Avon did a great job. And thank goodness for them, because my artistic flair and vision could easily be trapped in a thimble…it must be so disappointing for my mother who is a brilliant artist.
Do you have any plans to write sequels to any of your two books or are they stand-alone’s?
Both my books are stand alone, though I have left the door open in book three for a few cameo appearances from a couple of characters in The School Gate Survival Guide. Clover was such a fun character to write that even I feel I’d like to see her again.
Thank you so much for being on 23 Review Street today, I really appreciate you talking about your new book and your writing.
Thank you for having me – I have really appreciated the huge support I’ve had from book bloggers like you on this tour.
Don't forget to pick up a copy of Kerry's new book and make sure you look out for my review of The Island Escape later this month!
Great Q&A, I'm happy you're back!
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