Pedalo Pandemonium by Amanda Paull - Book Tour
Pedalo
Pandemonium (Scott Family Short Story, Book 4)
Laura and Ben
are still together, against all the odds. Laura's Family the Scotts are
adorable - but they wreak havoc wherever they go. The couple have survived
first date silicon dog poo, Christmas mayhem and even dodgy marshmallows.
Their future together may have looked doomed on
more than one occasion, but here they are at the airport – eating bacon
sandwiches and watching planes take off, as they wait to board their flight to
Mallorca.
A whole week in an idyllic Spanish fishing
village. Just the two of them. Away from their families and the usual chaos.
Wonderful.
What could possibly go wrong...?
Purchase Links
Author Q&A
1. What is the first book that made you cry?
I don’t remember the first one, but I did cry while reading The Man I think I know by Mike Gayle.
I don’t remember the first one, but I did cry while reading The Man I think I know by Mike Gayle.
2. How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
My first novel took me about 4 years, but my 2nd is progressing much more quickly. The short stories take around three months.
My first novel took me about 4 years, but my 2nd is progressing much more quickly. The short stories take around three months.
3. How do you select the names of your characters?
When I am writing a first draft of a story give characters random names that can easily be changed with the find and replace facility in a word document. I learned the hard way not to use something short like Tom, as every -tom- in any word got changed in a 90,000 word manuscript and I couldn’t undo it. As I write and edit, a more suitable name usually occurs to me and I change it at that point. I would like to use more exotic names, but they never sound right. Possibly because I write about ordinary people, so need names that sound ordinary to me. In my new novel there is a lovely little cleaner. I asked in the staffroom one lunchtime in my day job what name a cleaner could have. One of the guys said, ‘Maggie or Peggy’, they are all called ‘Maggie or Peggy’ here. So my cleaner is going to be called Peggy.
When I am writing a first draft of a story give characters random names that can easily be changed with the find and replace facility in a word document. I learned the hard way not to use something short like Tom, as every -tom- in any word got changed in a 90,000 word manuscript and I couldn’t undo it. As I write and edit, a more suitable name usually occurs to me and I change it at that point. I would like to use more exotic names, but they never sound right. Possibly because I write about ordinary people, so need names that sound ordinary to me. In my new novel there is a lovely little cleaner. I asked in the staffroom one lunchtime in my day job what name a cleaner could have. One of the guys said, ‘Maggie or Peggy’, they are all called ‘Maggie or Peggy’ here. So my cleaner is going to be called Peggy.
4. What creature do you consider your "spirit animal" to be?
That’s a tricky question because animals and I don’t mix well. I am allergic to cats and horses and anything too furry. Also, animals treat me in the same way children treat me – very suspiciously. They can sense I’m no good with either of them. Maybe an eagle. I admire eagles and would like to think I had a spirit eagle protecting me.
That’s a tricky question because animals and I don’t mix well. I am allergic to cats and horses and anything too furry. Also, animals treat me in the same way children treat me – very suspiciously. They can sense I’m no good with either of them. Maybe an eagle. I admire eagles and would like to think I had a spirit eagle protecting me.
5. What are your top 5 favorite movies? The Money Pit, Brigitte Jones
(the first one), Bohemian Rhapsody, Sex and the City (the first one) Father of
the Bride.
6. If you were the last person on Earth, what would you do?
Panic! I like my own company and can be quite antisocial, but I would hate to survive something that wipes out the rest of the human race.
Panic! I like my own company and can be quite antisocial, but I would hate to survive something that wipes out the rest of the human race.
7. What fictional character would you want to be friends with in real
life?
Brigitte Jones. I would feel much more ‘normal’ if I was friends with her.
Brigitte Jones. I would feel much more ‘normal’ if I was friends with her.
8. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Do what Stephen King advises and write your first draft for yourself and with the door closed. You can change things later. Study the writing craft from people who write well and learn about publishing from good role models, like Mark Dawson and Joanna Penn.
Do what Stephen King advises and write your first draft for yourself and with the door closed. You can change things later. Study the writing craft from people who write well and learn about publishing from good role models, like Mark Dawson and Joanna Penn.
9. What book do you wish you had written?
The Money Pitt (if it started out as a book) I love that story.
The Money Pitt (if it started out as a book) I love that story.
10. Tell us 10 fun facts about yourself! :) I have a good sense of
humour (some would say strange, though it is normal for my family)
1. I can sense when there is an
insect around before I see it
2. I have a counting obsession –
I count everything in my head, even while in a serious conversation with
someone and it drives me mad
3. I broke my ankle dashing
downstairs at work so I could get to the canteen for the free Christmas Dinner
4. My daughter calls me the ‘prophet
of doom’ because I spot negative stuff others miss (not fun really, but has
been known to make people laugh in disbelief)
5. I can beat my brother at
staying on a pogo stick
6. I chose my pen name Amanda
after a pet newt I called Mandy
7. I got told off told off by the
Registrar during my 2nd wedding ceremony because I couldn’t stop
laughing after noticing she had while cholesterol rings around her irises and
wanting to tell her, but I couldn’t. I can still see her steely, angry ayes now
– I think it was actually a stress reaction because I knew I was making a
mistake
8. I am scared of little doors
and windows. I live near Beamish museum and they have a shop there with clothes
from those eras. I freaked out when I saw the tiny ADULT gloves, shirt collars
and shoes. Then, when I was in Oxford one time, I became aware of very small
doors in houses and attic windows. I think I must have been trapped somewhere
small by a small person in a previous life…
9. I used to love dancing with my
friends in the 80s to Dolce Vita, in white stiletto shoes and a ra ra skirt,
around our handbags. Oh, and sporting really cool curly perms…
10. I went off to study in Spain
when I was 22. I had a great time.
Author Bio
–
My name is Amanda Paull. Well,
that's my pen name, not my real one, which helps to keep my
writing separate from my day job.
I grew up in the North East of
England and couldn't wait to move away. However, after studying and then
living both in England and abroad, I returned to the North East and
wouldn't dream of living anywhere else now.
Going to Grammar school in the
days when teachers wore black caps and gowns, and walloped at will,
wasn't much fun for a shy, quiet child like myself. So, I
just kept my head down, did my homework and tried to stay invisible.
I used to love daydreaming and
making up stories in my head, but I never thought about writing them down.
In those days, writing wasn't an enjoyable pursuit, it was more of a time
to tow the line and avoid being hit by a flying blackboard
rubber. I was the type of pupil who would have been mortified to have
'made' a teacher launch one at me, so I would have shown respect by
not ducking.
A short career in teaching was a
revelation, to put it mildly. After going back to University, I settled into my
current post in the public sector, where I am very happy.
It was Jim, a work colleague,
who suggested around 12 years ago that I write a book. Apparently, my
contribution to coffee break conversations always seemed to be
either tragic or hilarious. But to me it was just normal stuff.
No-one would want to read about that.
Then, a couple of years later,
while sunbathing in Mallorca with my boyfriend, who is now my
husband, and a glass of Cava, the idea of writing a humorous
fiction novel came to me. I didn't need to make it all up though as I
had a plentiful supply of funny real life snippets.
To get started, I studied
creative writing through the Open University, which fitted nicely around
my job and, to my delight, was absolutely nothing like
school. The Scott Family Short Stories started out as an assignment for
this course. A Christmas Day Kerfuffle was the result of the fictional account
of the first Christmas brunch my husband spent with my family. Of all the short
stories, this one has more true snippets in it than the others. The taxi driver
and bike box scene in Pedalo Pandemonium was pretty true to life, too. The
driver looked different, but the airport to hotel transfer only required slight
embellishment.
I also write Women’s
Fiction. Pictures in the Sky was my debut novel, and I am currently writing my
second, Painting Bananas.
Social
Media Links –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Apaullfiction
Website: https://www.amandapaull.co.uk/
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