Q&A with Christina Courtenay

    Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Christina Courtenay, author of 'The Runes of Destiny.'

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014).  The Runes of Destiny (time travel published by Headline 10^th December 2020) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

1.      What was your favourite childhood book/author?
The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton – I read all 21 of them and wished there were more! (Loved all her other stories too).

2.      What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point?
I started writing when my first child was born because I needed a job I could do from home so I could be a stay-at-home mum. It wasn’t as easy as I thought though and I didn’t get published until the week after she left home aged 21! But by the time I realised how difficult it was going to be, I’d been bitten by the writing bug and haven’t stopped since.

3.      Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
That depends – I usually work in ordered chaos, but I have occasional tidying up sprees when I get fed up with the mess and I do like order in general.

4.      What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 
The easiest part is the writing – just letting your imagination flow. I’m always really excited when I start a new project and I love writing the first draft. The hardest part is self-promotion and balancing the time spent on writing with that taken up by social media.

5.      Which other authors are you influenced by?
All my fellow timeslip/time travel authors, particularly Barbara Erskine, Susanna Kearsley and Nicola Cornick. They are all mistresses of their genre and write wonderful books! Early on I was also influenced by Johanna Lindsey because she had a way of leaving her readers feeling massively satisfied, and she was great at creating literary families readers want to return to over and over again.

6.      What does literary success “look” like to you?
I suppose all authors want to be bestsellers and I’m no different, but the best thing is when readers truly enjoy your stories and tell you so. And when you hear that you have cheered someone up or helped them over a difficult period in their lives perhaps.

7.      How do you select the names of your characters?
I keep a list of great names and whenever I hear one I like I add it to that. I also scour the internet for suitable names and can spend ages looking for the right one. As I’m writing Viking stories at the moment, I have a list of Old Norse names and I’m always happy to be able to add more.

8.      If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role?
Chris Hemsworth would make a great Viking hero (as he does in his role as Thor) but I take inspiration for my characters from random photos on the internet who “become” my hero/heroine and mostly those people aren’t actors or actresses so can’t play those roles. If my books were to be made into a film I think it would be great to cast unknown actors/actresses from Iceland or Scandinavia. I’d love to be allowed to help choose them!

9.   What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
Entertainment and a feeling that all is right with the world, that good always triumphs over evil and that love is stronger than anything else.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 

I’m a chocoholic so a bar of Bourneville or some Ferrero Rocher chocolates would be my preferred option. Swedish cinnamon buns could also work! (I have a great recipe if anyone wants :-D)

The Runes of Destiny
Release date: - 10^th December 2020

Separated by time. Brought together by fate. When helping out at an archaeological dig, Linnea uncovers an exquisite brooch, but blacks out after reading the runic inscription. She wakes up surrounded by men in Viking costume, who seem to take re-enactment very seriously. Lost and confused, she finds herself in the power of Hrafn, a Viking warrior who claims her as his thrall and takes her on a journey across the seas to sell her for profit. Setting sail, she confronts the unthinkable: she has travelled back to the 9^th century. Linnea is determined to find a way back to her own time, but there’s a connection forming with Hrafn. Can she resist the call of the runes and accept her destiny lies here …

Buy Links:-

Amazon UK 
Amazon US

Social Media:-

http://www.christinacourtenay.com

https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/PiaCCourtenay

https://www.instagram.com/ChristinaCourtenayAuthor/

Q&A with Mary Grand

   Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Mary Grand, author of 'The House Party.' 

About Mary:

I live on the Isle of Wight with my family. Before coming to the Island, I worked as a teacher of Deaf children in Hastings and Croydon.  I grew up in Wales and speak a smattering of Welsh, my first few novels are set in Wales.  After several happy years of self-publishing I am now very excited to be working with Boldwood Books.  

What was your favourite childhood book/author?

I grew up with Enid Blyton books, mostly reading stories about children with very different lives to my own. My favourite series was called ‘The Naughtiest Girl in the School’.  Generally, I appear to have liked reading about children (and cats!) that liked breaking the rules, who were a bit rebellious. As an extremely conforming child I guess reading for me was a safe way to escape the mundane, to know the thrill of going to new places and discovering different ways of living.

 

What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point?

I only started writing about seven years ago. I had been unwell and went on a creative writing course one evening a week.  The teacher was really inspiring, and I discovered a whole new world.  I self-published my first three novels, the first of which was ‘Free to Be Tegan’. This was inspired by my experiences growing up in a strict religious sect. Earlier this year I was very excited to sign a 3-book deal with Boldwood Books for a series of standalone   thrillers /whodunnits set on the Isle of Wight. My first book with them, ‘The House Party’, was published last July.  I am busy working on the next!

 

Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
My thinking space tends to be outdoors; quiet, solitary places and my favourite is Mottistone Down here on the Isle of Wight.

My actual writing space is curled up on the sofa with my laptop. I have a coffee table in front of me with notebooks and lists.

I have tried to create more orderly spaces with a desk and pin board but it’s never worked for me. I think I need to be close to coffee and biscuits!

 

What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process?

The easiest part is thinking up the ideas, the characters, the plots and I enjoy creating my world and the people who live in it. Some days however I feel overwhelmed by doubt or the task of completing the whole novel.  The most helpful thing for me at this point is to remember that saying by Anne Lamott...take it ‘bird by bird.’..one step at a time.

 

Which other authors are you influenced by? 
I love a wide range of writers of Women’s fiction and also crime and thrillers. Some writers who have influenced me are Barbara Copperthwaite, Cara Hunter, Daphne Du Maurier, Agatha Christie, Lucy Foley, Louise Candlish...the list goes on!

 

What does literary success “look” like to you?

One of the best feelings in the world is when you hear from a reader how much they have enjoyed your book, how it might have helped them through a difficult patch.  A really exciting moment for me was seeing ‘The House Party’ in book shops sitting along writers I have admired for years.

 

How do you select the names of your characters?

I love choosing the names of my characters!  I often research the meaning of a name but sometimes the name will just come to me and be right for that person. I come from Wales and the main characters in my first four novels all have beautiful Welsh names. On a practical note I try not to have two characters with names starting with the same initial as it can be confusing.

Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand?

Each of my novels has a cocker spaniel in it and their names are chosen very carefully. Since I started writing I have also been a member of a group for owners of cocker spaniels. I choose the names of one of their dogs each time as a way of saying thank you for all their love and support.

 

What do you hope your readers take away from your books?

Thrillers and whodunnits are naturally tense, suspenseful stories. My aim is for the reader to get lost in the story, to escape. My main characters go on difficult journeys with lots if twists and turns. However ultimately things are resolved, loose ends tied up and I hope my readers leave the book feeling surprised, satisfied, and with a hint of ‘of course, I should have seen that coming!’

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book?
I think I would choose welsh cakes. Like Beth in ‘The House Party’ welsh cakes were something my mum made a lot when I was growing up in Wales.

The House Party

At the intimate house-warming party for her glorious ‘grand design’, Kathleen confides in her best friend Beth that she is terrified of one of their close friends, but daren’t reveal which one. The guests are a tight-knit group, but Kathleen is convinced one of them is dangerous.

The next day Kathleen’s body is found at the foot of a cliff and Beth must face the sickening truth that she may have been killed by one of their trusted friends. With little help from the police, Beth’s decides to seek answers.

All the friends have secrets they are desperate to hide, but only one of them is ready to kill to keep theirs safe... Available HERE

Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Mary-Grand-1584393925166154
Twitter: @authormaryg
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Email:   marygrand90@yahoo.co.uk
Website: marygrand.net 

Q&A with Sandy Barker

  Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Sandy Barker, author of 'The Christmas Swap.' 

About Sandy:

I call myself a hopeful romantic. I’m also a lifelong traveller, self-confessed coffee snob, and devourer of cooking shows, especially The Great British Bakeoff.

For more visit: https://sandybarker.com/

1.      What did you read as a child? 

I was obsessed with reading as a child and at ten or eleven, I precociously devoured Mills & Boon books. By the time I was twelve, I’d move onto Shirley Conran and Jackie Collins. But I also had more ‘age appropriate’ tastes and loved the Sweet Dreams and Sweet Valley High books too.

 

2.      What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 

I started writing a travel biography in 2001 about my year spent as a Contiki Tour Manager. I tried to fictionalise it in 2012-2013. An agent, who liked my pitch, read it and said, ‘It’s not your first novel. Too many characters, multi narratives. You’re not Liane Moriarty (yet). Go away and write a simple, linear story.”

 

And I did. I wrote what became One Summer in Santorini. I self-published that and (what is now) A Sunset in Sydney, and wrote (what is now) That Night in Paris. Before I could self-publish my third book, I heard from Avon Books and they wanted to publish me! That was early 2019 and I have had four books published since then (I’m now with One More Chapter, another imprint of HarperCollins UK).

 

3.      Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos? 

I’m a neat freak and I have also been working from home for nine months, so my writing space is dual purpose, and everything is in its place. I do the official ‘switch over’ twice a day. I write in the mornings, then ‘go to work’, then switch back to author mode in the evenings – different laptops, different notebooks…

 

4.      What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 

The easiest part is when I am in the flow of a story and it is pouring out of me. The ideas are coming fast and thick (I only plan a loose outline and character arcs) and I end up writing whole chapters in a single sitting – I love that.

 

Copy edits are the hardest because it is not just about tweaking small sections. You then need to go back through the whole manuscript to make sure you haven’t ‘upset’ the rest of the story – or even its flow – with the edits.

 

5.      Which other authors are you influenced by?

I read widely in my genre, and there are some incredible authors out there writing the most clever/beautiful/hilarious stories. But the author whose career I most aspire to emulate is Lindsey Kelk. She is so brilliantly funny and her characters live and breathe in your mind. She’s also written two series as well as standalones and I am planning to do the same. I’ve already written the next in the Holiday Romance series and I am now writing book 6, a standalone, which may become a series!

 

6.      What does literary success “look” like to you?

When I can stop working in a ‘day job’ and just write fulltime. I have SO MANY stories inside me – most romantic comedies, some darker contemporary fiction, a thriller, a fairy tale. I just want to write fulltime.

 

7.      How do you select the names of your characters?

Maybe this is the hardest part of writing. I have a list of names I like, and I’ll draw from that, or I (lazily) borrow from friends and family. If I am writing the antagonist, I’ll go to my other list – names I don’t like, or I think of people who have irked me. And I use Google! ‘Popular girls’ names from 1990’ – searches of that nature are very helpful. But a name has to fit the character and sometimes, my characters get renamed as I write.

 

8.      Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 

Not so much messages, but I will give my close friends ‘cameos’ where I’ve named a minor character after them. I also have ‘stolen’ a few travel stories/anecdotes that some people will recognise.

 

9.      If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 

I typically do an ‘inspiration image search’ when I am writing something new, so I usually know what my characters look like and often their appearance is based on specific actors. For Lucy in The Christmas Swap, I’d love Eleanor Tomlinson – she’d be perfect – and for her love interest, Will, Ansel Elgort.

 

10.  What do you hope your readers take away from your book?

That you can choose your family – those lifelong friends we have – they are our family as much as our parents, siblings, cousins, etc. Family is love, acceptance, honesty, generosity, and support.

 

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 

Christmas cake (drowning in sherry), hot chocolate, bubbly – anything that you associate with Christmas.

The Christmas Swap

Ebook is out now on all platforms, and the print book will be available from the end of November.

Christmas is coming and best friends Chloe, Jules, and Lucy are needing change… so swapping homes for the holidays could be the perfect present for all of them! Join them in snowy Colorado, sunny Melbourne and cosy Oxfordshire for love, laughter, friendship and romance.

Amazon:

AU https://amzn.to/3kx7xEO
US https://amzn.to/2PBrtbH
UK https://amzn.to/2RrbmhP
CA https://amzn.to/2HzrUCk

Apple: https://apple.co/3cCVRgy

GooglePlay: https://bit.ly/3cAJhhI

 

Sandy Barker's Social media:

https://twitter.com/sandybarker

https://www.facebook.com/sandybarkerauthor

https://sandybarker.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sandybarkerauthor/

Q&A with Liz Hinds

  Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Liz Hinds, author of upcoming release, 'This Year Maybe.' 

My name’s Liz Hinds, I live in Wales, on the edge of the beautiful Gower Peninsula – the first Area of Outstanding Natural beauty to be designated as such in Britain – with Husband and George. You’ll hear plenty about them – and it won’t necessarily be complimentary – if you read my blog! (http://lizhinds.online/)

I love reading, writing, walking with George, fun socks, and ice cream, but not as much as I adore my grandchildren

1.  What was your favourite childhood book/author? 

Little Women was my absolute favourite but before that I have fond memories of a book about Pookie. I can’t even remember if Pookie was a bear or a creature, or what he got up to, but I just have this little spot in my heart labelled, ‘Pookie’.

As for Little Women, of course I wanted to be Jo, even though I didn’t think seriously about that for a long time. Still haven’t forgiven her for not marrying Laurie though.

2.   What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 

Although I was good at writing essays, through school and university I took the science route. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that the church I was part of set up a local newspaper and I got involved with that, and, as they say, it just went on from there.

3.  Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos? 

No question, creative chaos. I have the habit of jotting things I think are important or want to remember down on scraps of paper, which then litter themselves – nothing to do with me – across my desk. I am trying to be more organised and write everything in a notebook but, well. My desk is also home to stones painted by grandchildren, and another notebook of Welsh – I started learning online during lockdown. At the moment there’s also a t-towel that I brought in to mop up the water I spilled.

4.   What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 

Having ideas is easy. Facing the fear when it comes to putting them on paper terrified that they’ll not live up to the promise in my head is hard. Letting the characters write their own stories is easy. Writing it for them and making it fill enough pages – I am by nature a short writer, if you understand me – is hard. But nothing is as hard as marketing and promoting. Although I’m now on my third published novel I’m only just beginning to realise that books don’t sell themselves. (Just look at my sales figures …) So I’m doing courses, watching videos, learning new things, going from excited enthusiasm to mind-boggled misery in the course of a few hours each day.

5.  Which other authors are you influenced by?

Katie Fforde is my favourite of that genre (whatever that would be) and I love Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels. And I adore the style of Fredrik Backman though I have yet to emulate him.

6.   What does literary success “look” like to you?

Lots of people reading and loving your books.

7.  How do you select the names of your characters?

Do you know I don’t have a clue? I’ve tried to think before about why I decided to call this person Alison and that person Trisha, for example, but it must be a magical process that just happens.

8.  Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 

So deep are they buried that no-one has ever found one. Or maybe I’ve not even thought about a secret message. Hm, now, what would I want to impart to those in the know?

9.  If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 
When I wrote my first novel – many years ago – I cast the now late Alan Rickman as the male lead. He was the only one I’ve ever seen so clearly and that was mainly a case of heard, as in the male character, David, has a sexy voice. I shall have to think about casting for my new novel.

10. What do you hope your readers take away from your book?

A smile, a warm feeling – or from my first and newly-released novels, that ‘At least I’m not as dopey as Alison.’

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

A Welshcake or three.

This Year Maybe (sequel to This Time Next Year)

Release date: 25^th November 2020

Alison and David have been engaged for so long that even Alison’s mother has given up asking when, but it’s second time around for both of them and they’re not in any particular hurry. That said, Alison is beginning to wonder if living with her has put David off the idea of marriage so when he suggests they set a date she is delighted. But that date is six months’ away and a lot can happen in six months – especially if you’re Alison!

‘My son’s been arrested, Great-aunt Millie's fallen in love, my best friend suspects her husband of having an affair, and I still need to lose weight. How on earth can I think about getting married?’

Available to pre-order HERE

Follow me on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/LizHindsAuthor
Twitter https://twitter.com/LizHindsAuthor
Liz Hinds Website http://lizhinds.online/

SIGN UP to Liz's occasional newsletter about books, writing and reading, life, and a bit of Welsh learning. If you sign up now you can get a free copy of my first novel, This Time Next Year, the prequel to This Year Maybe.

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Q&A with Shirley Mann

 Welcome to The Comfy Chair blog... Shirley Mann, author of recent release, 'Bobby's War.' 

I am a journalist who worked for the BBC for most of my career,  for programmes such as Woman’s Hour and Countryfile. I then started up my own media company producing films for organisation such as Natural England and the National Heritage Lottery Fund. I was thinking of retiring when I thought it would be a really good idea to ‘just’ see whether I could write a novel. I have just been signed for two further novels so bang goes retirement. I live in the glorious hills of Derbyshire and have two daughters and a ‘granddog’ ( I know, say nothing!)  

 

1.     What was your favourite childhood book/author?
I absorbed all books but The Faraway Tree and The Water Babies have a special place in my heart.

2.    What inspired you to start writing and how long has it taken you to get to this point? 
I have always needed to write from when I would write stories for my sister and I – as the heroines, obviously- and I became a journalist for that reason but novel writing?-- Well, that only took me until I was 60 until I thought I’d give it a go.

3.     Describe your writing space - neat and ordered or creative chaos?
One day I will be neat and ordered but, at the moment, I move around the house taking my piles of rubbish with me. Sometimes, it’s on the sofa with a cushion on my knees under my laptop, sometimes at the dining room table but for some reason, hardly ever in the little office we have- that’s too much like a proper writer. Strangely the best place I have ever written was in the café at Ikea. No idea why but it worked really well and I love writing on trains. I often think all I have to do to finish a novel is to set off from Land’s End and go up to John O’Groats. That would do it.

4.     What is the easiest and hardest part of the writing process? 
Easiest is writing the words ‘The End’, the hardest is the bit beforehand.

5.    Which other authors are you influenced by?
All of them, I get something out of every writer’s style. Many of them make me feel completely inadequate, others make me feel I can do better- especially with endings. I hate it when they think it’s clever to keep you hanging.  I think I am aiming to create heroines like Georgette Heyer did- all with very different but distinctive personalities. I wanted to write novels that were an easy read but an intelligent read and oh, did I ever want to make sure they were page-turners? I read so much and so many different types of books but often it’s a chore to pick them up. I want to be taken away to another world but it has to be a well-written, well-researched world.

6.     What does literary success “look” like to you?
 People. I had a comment from a reader yesterday that said she stayed up until 1.30am reading my first book and couldn’t put it down. I get a huge kick out of people’s enthusiasm and when a 26 year old says she got through Lockdown with ‘Lily’s War’ because it made her realise what young people went through in the war, it makes me feel very humbled. I also want desperately to do justice to my parents, whose wartime romance started me off on this journey, and to the wonderful former WAAFs, ATA pilots and Land Army girls I interviewed- they helped me recreate their very personal war and told me wonderful details that aren’t in the history books. If I do justice to their legacy, I will feel I really have achieved something.

7.    How do you select the names of your characters?
Sometimes, they just come to me  because they seem to suggest themselves to me but graveyards are good!

8.    Do you hide any secret ‘messages’ in your book that only a few people will understand? 
I was about to say no, but the first one was based on my parents and for the family, I think there will be memories that I have that would have been lost. Certainly, in ‘Lily’s War’ my heroine’s parents are my grandparents and their house and life has now been immortalised in that book and I hope will allow future generations to understand what their ancestors were like.

9.     If your book was to be made into a film/TV programme, which actors would play which role? 
Someone asked me this question the other day and I thought maybe Lily James could be Lily ( and yes, it would be handy she has the same name) and I did think Andy Burnham could be Danny! Maybe a younger version might be necessary but he has all the attributes and certainly the twinkling eyes!

10.  What do you hope your readers take away from your book?
An escape from Covid and maybe an appreciation that at least, we’re not being bombed from the air for six years. But I really would like people to look again at old people and, a bit like the film ‘The Notebook’, realise that they were once young.

 

Lastly, Jenn (The Comfy Chair) likes to enjoy a good read snuggled up with a cup of tea and piece of cake... what cake or sweet treat would you suggest to accompany your book? 

 

Oh, I think a chocolate brownie but actually a chocolate brownie goes well with any book. It helps you get through some of the award winners that are sheer hard work but it also feels gloriously indulgent when you’re gobbling up the pages of a real winner. I hope people think my books are like chocolate brownies- delicious, fun but full of goodness.

Bobby's War
Release date: E book 29^th Oct and paperback 19^th March, 2021.

Red-haired Roberta, Bobby for short, is an Air Transport Auxiliary pilot. She has a frantic schedule delivering planes all over the country and flies everything from a Spitfire to a Wellington bomber. She navigates the country but when it comes to the secrets of her dysfunctional family, she finds that controlling a huge, four-engined bomber might just be easier than controlling her own life.

Available to purchase - HERE

Follow Shirley on Twitter - @shirleymann07
For more information - https://shirleymannauthor.home.blog/

Mango Bay - Serena Fairfax

 

Jazz clubs, yacht clubs, aunty bars and a Bollywood beauty shadowed by her pet panther. This is glamorous Bombay in the late 1950s.

Love has blossomed in London between vivacious Scottish Presbyterian, Audrey, and clever Indian lawyer, Nat Zachariah.

When the happy newlyweds move to Nat’s exotic homeland and the striking family villa, Audrey must deftly navigate the rituals, secrets, intrigues and desires of his Bene Israel Jewish community, and adjust to perplexing new relatives.

In time, the past unlocks, old family ties unravel, lies are exposed and passions run high as different generations fall out. Then something shocking happens that undoes everything. Will this marriage that has crossed boundaries survive?

 Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mango-Bay-Rituals-secrets-intrigues/dp/0957040563

My Review:

As a reader new to Fairfax’s work I was excited about reading Mango Bay and I was not disappointed at all. The story, a gorgeous romance set in Bombay during the 1950’s, is of Audrey and Nat, who meet, quickly fall in love and get married in a bit of a whirlwind before eventually moving to Nat’s homeland.

We soon see that wedded bliss is not all that Audrey expects it to be, Nat is not the same and we are taken on a journey of the lows and turmoil surrounding these two characters but they do have highs and happiness. How long does that happiness last? Well I will leave that for you to discover but to say things and people are not always as they seem. We read how this family lives with the situations they find themselves in and how differing cultures may play a role in the marriage and family dynamic.

Very well written, Serena Fairfax transports you to another time and place, full of culture and difference. As someone who loves India and has spent time there this book took me straight back, I could feel the atmosphere, imagine the smells, and sounds and I was engrossed.

It’s a beautiful book that will sweep you up and keep you reading for hours. Highly recommended. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Serena spent her childhood in India, qualified as a Lawyer in England, and worked in a London law firm.

Some of her novels have a strong romantic arc although she burst the romance bubble with one quirky departure. Other novels pull the reader into the dark corners of family life and relationships. She enjoys the challenge of experimenting and writing in different genres.

Her short stories and a medley of articles, including her reviews of thrillers and crime fiction, feature on her blog.

Fast forward to a sabbatical from the day job when Serena traded in bricks and mortar for a houseboat that, for a hardened land lubber like her, turned out to be a big adventure.  A few of her favourite things are collecting old masks, singing and exploring off the beaten track.

Serena and her golden retriever, Inspector Morse, who can’t wait to unleash his own Facebook page, live in London.

www.serenafairfax.com

 Twitter @Sefairfax