Pictures in the Sky by Amanda Paull - Book Tour
Pictures
in the Sky
She gave up on romance years ago. He’s going through the
motions. Their lives change forever when he makes contact out of the blue.
With her daughter leaving the nest, Michelle Cameron would rather spend her time with good friends, a glass of fizzy and a box set, than with another idiot bloke chipping away at her self-esteem. But when childhood friend Daniel Helmsley gets back in touch, the years roll away on a tide of laughter and friendship, which soon gives way to another roller coaster of love, excitement and panic. Can Michelle let herself trust again? What if Dan is just another idiot bloke, disillusioned with the present and nostalgic for the past?
If you like cosy romance that makes you laugh as well as cry, then you’ll love this feel-good tale of past disappointment, renewed friendship and finding true love.
Download Amanda Paull’s Pictures in the Sky today to discover if Michelle dares to love again.
‘Your lively style and humour are exactly right for this genre.’ Susan Davis.
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Author Q&A
1. What inspires
your book ideas?
Real life, with a dose of humour and embellishment. My debut
novel, Pictures in the Sky, is fictional but was inspired by my own
experience of bringing up my daughter alone. Like Michelle, the main character,
I tried to do the best I could as a working single-parent, without going crazy.
My short stories are inspired by some of the farcical shenanigans that occurred
when I first introduced my husband to my family.
2. What does your husband think about your writing?
He’s amazing.
He’s not particularly a fan of women’s fiction, but he painstakingly reads my
stories for me and is so encouraging. He’s an optimistic Piscean, which
compliments my Scorpio ‘Grim reaper’ nature – my daughter’s opinion, not mine –
perfectly. Sometimes, when I don’t even appear to have a glass, he makes me see
that I do and that it’s actually half-full. He’s kind of like Dan, the main
male character in Pictures, in that we met when we were children and then got
together in middle age. But, unlike Dan, he is very loyal.
3. Who inspires you to write and why?
Marian Keyes. She
writes with wonderful humour, but her stories are fundamentally about serious
topics. One day I would like to write as well as she does, and make people
laugh as much as she makes me laugh. I also love reading Jenny Éclair novels.
They’re wonderful – funny, serious, dark, disturbing at times, and always with
a twist. I still have so much to learn. At the moment, I need to get to grips
with the art of concise writing – I have a tendency to ramble on... I’ll get
there eventually – just this week I’ve chopped 3,000 words from Pictures
in the Sky.
4. What do you like about your main character, Michelle?
She’s normal.
Like a lot of women of my generation, Michelle tries to do the right thing in
life and be the pest person she can be to everyone around her, but she’s had to
endure more than her fair share of knocks along the way. Since her daughter,
Sara, was born, all Michelle has wanted to do is to keep Sara safe and sound
and instil much more confidence into her than she herself has ever had. Like
many mothers in her situation, Michelle puts herself last and she’s is quite
worn out. Unfortunately, when the chance of happiness finally comes along, it
has strings attached.
5. Where did the inspiration
from Sara come from?
My
own lovely daughter. We love each other dearly and are very close, but we also bicker
a lot. There are some scenes where Sara is furious with Michelle for acting in
a way she has always told her was wrong. I think I overdid it a bit because,
when I had a professional read-through, the reader thought that Sara was
absolutely horrible. I felt a bit guilty because my daughter had already
complained that I’d made Sara’s character nasty, but I’d insisted she was
overreacting. I had to edit her scenes…
6. Would you like
to share a favourite moment from your writing career so far?
A
good while after I had self-published the first two Scott Family Short Stories,
I received an email from someone in Texas who claimed to have enjoyed reading
them. They offered to read and review Pictures in the Sky when it was
finished too. Obviously, I thought it was a scam – I mean, I might like
writing, but surely, no-one else would choose
to read my stories? And, my debit
card had recently been cloned and there was no way I was about to fall victim
to another fraudster. However, they turned out to be genuine. I felt – and
still feel – absolutely thrilled that someone I didn’t know had not only read
my stories, but also taken the time to review them and write to me with such a
lovely compliment.
Author Bio
–
Amanda Paull is a
writer of humorous romantic fiction. She lives in the North East of England
with her husband and works in the public sector. The inspiration for her
stories comes from real life, which she tries to show the funnier side of by
embellishing to the hilt.
Amanda's Website: http://www.amandapaull.co.uk
Amanda's Website: http://www.amandapaull.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Apaullfiction/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Apaullfiction
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