The Cocktail Bar by Isabella May - Book Blitz + Giveaway
The Cocktail Bar
Rock star, River Jackson, is back in his hometown of Glastonbury to open a cocktail bar… and the locals aren’t impressed.
Seductive Georgina is proving too hot to handle; band mate, Angelic Alice, is messing with his heart and his head; his mum is a hippie-dippy liability; his school friends have resorted to violence – oh, and his band manager, Lennie, AND the media are on his trail.
But River is armed with a magical Mexican elixir which will change the lives of the Three Chosen Ones. Once the Mexican wave of joy takes a hold of the town, he’s glad he didn’t lose his proverbial bottle.
Pity he hasn’t taken better care of the real one.
Purchase Link - mybook.to/thecocktailbar
Author Q&A
1. What is the
first book that made you cry?
I’m not sure about the first… but I’d have been a toddler on a potty with a pile of books at my feet (apparently I used to sit there for so long that I’d have a red ring on my bottom!) so whichever one my mum pulled me away from when that happened!
The last book that made me cry was definitely The Puppet Boy of Warsaw.
I’m not sure about the first… but I’d have been a toddler on a potty with a pile of books at my feet (apparently I used to sit there for so long that I’d have a red ring on my bottom!) so whichever one my mum pulled me away from when that happened!
The last book that made me cry was definitely The Puppet Boy of Warsaw.
2. How long, on
average, does it take you to write a book?
Well, my debut took a whopping 7 years from initial brainstorming through to honing my craft. I’m currently on book five and nowadays, thankfully, I tend to write a novel every six months.
Well, my debut took a whopping 7 years from initial brainstorming through to honing my craft. I’m currently on book five and nowadays, thankfully, I tend to write a novel every six months.
3. How do you
select the names of your characters?
That’s such a good question. I try to think of names that fit the age/era/nationality of my characters. Nothing too new age, nothing too over-used. I also try to avoid having too many names starting with the same letter as it can get really confusing for readers.
That’s such a good question. I try to think of names that fit the age/era/nationality of my characters. Nothing too new age, nothing too over-used. I also try to avoid having too many names starting with the same letter as it can get really confusing for readers.
4. What creature
do you consider your "spirit animal" to be?
Can I say meerkat?
Can I say meerkat?
5. What are your
top 5 favorite movies?
I’m so fickle with movies and don’t really watch many twice. If Tom Hanks is in it, it’s usually a winner though.
I’m so fickle with movies and don’t really watch many twice. If Tom Hanks is in it, it’s usually a winner though.
6. If you were
the last person on Earth, what would you do?
Eat all the cake.
Eat all the cake.
7. What
fictional character would you want to be friends with in real life?
The hundred-year-old man who climbed out of a window. I think he’d be full of ridiculous adventure and spontaneity.
The hundred-year-old man who climbed out of a window. I think he’d be full of ridiculous adventure and spontaneity.
8. Do you have
any advice for aspiring writers?
-Try not to compare yourself to others. You can’t see right now where your own personal writing path leads, but trust it to light up each step of the way. One day you’ll be able to look back with eagle eye vision and see that it all happened perfectly.
-Learn the writing ‘rules’ and then do it your own way – it’s the only way to discover your unique writing voice.
-Get used to critique… and as time goes on, ignore it more and more and more!
-Try not to compare yourself to others. You can’t see right now where your own personal writing path leads, but trust it to light up each step of the way. One day you’ll be able to look back with eagle eye vision and see that it all happened perfectly.
-Learn the writing ‘rules’ and then do it your own way – it’s the only way to discover your unique writing voice.
-Get used to critique… and as time goes on, ignore it more and more and more!
9. What book do
you wish you had written?
There used to be many that would fit into that box, but taking my answer to the last question into consideration, I’m going to say none. I’ve spent way too long wishing I was somebody else… and then I realised those roles are all filled. Nobody else can write like those authors. And nobody else can write like this author.
There used to be many that would fit into that box, but taking my answer to the last question into consideration, I’m going to say none. I’ve spent way too long wishing I was somebody else… and then I realised those roles are all filled. Nobody else can write like those authors. And nobody else can write like this author.
10. Tell us 10
fun facts about yourself! :)
1) I speak four languages – five if you count Somerset!
2) I have weird thumbs
3) I’m addicted to the smell of tea tree oil
4) I’m petrified of crickets (not ideal when you live in Spain)
5) I twice turned down an interview to appear on The Apprentice… and thank God, ‘cos one of those series was the same year as Katie (eek) Hopkins!
6) I used to be a cave guide at Wookey Hole during my Uni holidays
7) I’d visited 39 countries before I was 30… and just 1 new country in the last decade (Morocco)… because… kids!!!
8) Before I was an author, I sold foreign rights for children’s books all over the world – everywhere from Iceland to South Korea, Aruba to Russia.
9) I live right on the beach.
10) I have a ‘chiringuito’ beach bar just 100 metres from my back garden.
1) I speak four languages – five if you count Somerset!
2) I have weird thumbs
3) I’m addicted to the smell of tea tree oil
4) I’m petrified of crickets (not ideal when you live in Spain)
5) I twice turned down an interview to appear on The Apprentice… and thank God, ‘cos one of those series was the same year as Katie (eek) Hopkins!
6) I used to be a cave guide at Wookey Hole during my Uni holidays
7) I’d visited 39 countries before I was 30… and just 1 new country in the last decade (Morocco)… because… kids!!!
8) Before I was an author, I sold foreign rights for children’s books all over the world – everywhere from Iceland to South Korea, Aruba to Russia.
9) I live right on the beach.
10) I have a ‘chiringuito’ beach bar just 100 metres from my back garden.
Thank you!
Author Bio –
Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalucia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the sea and the mountains. Having grown up on Glastonbury’s ley lines however, she’s unable to completely shake off her spiritual inner child, and is a Law of Attraction fanatic.
Cake, cocktail, and travel obsessed, she also loves nothing more than to (quietly) break life’s ‘rules’.
Social Media Links –
Twitter - @IsabellaMayBks
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/IsabellaMayAuthor/
Instagram - @isabella_may_author
Giveaway – Win a signed copy of Oh! What A Pavlova (Open Internationally)
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