The Summer of Taking
Chances
Would you take the second
chance you’ve always dreamed of?
It’s been ten years since
Emma Stevens last laid eyes on Jake Murray. When he left the small seaside
village of South Quay to chase the limelight, Emma’s dreams left with him.
Now Emma is content living a
quiet and uneventful life in South Quay. It’s far from the life she imagined,
but at least her job at the local hotel has helped heal her broken heart.
But when Jake returns home
for the summer to escape the spotlight, Emma’s feelings quickly come flooding
back. There’s clearly a connection between them, but Jake has damaged her heart
once already – will she ever be able to give him a second chance?
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Author Q&A
1. Favorite childhood memory involving books?
I remember being in a bookshop when I was about six and
choosing to buy a book titled ‘Prince Caspian’ because it had a picture of a
boy on a horse galloping through a forest on the front cover, and I thought it
looked exciting. I started reading it as soon as I got home and suddenly found
myself in this amazing place called Narnia, where animals talked – it’s the
first book I remember reading. I went on to collect all the Narnia books, and I
still have my childhood copies.
2. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
I wanted to be an author when I grew up from when I was
about ten or eleven. I was always writing stories, and I remember the thrill of
seeing them published in my school magazine. The school was very keen on
creative writing, and I can still picture the green exercise books we wrote in.
3. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what
would they be?
Writer. Reader. Traveller.
4. If you could own any animal as a pet, what would it be?
I used to ride as a child – I have fond memories of riding
along a beach and over the South Downs – and I’d love to own my own horse, but as I
live in a city it’s not very practical.
5. Have you ever met anyone famous?
Although I’m a writer, most of my family and many of my friends
work in theatre or the film industry and through them I’ve met quite a few
famous people – I hope I didn’t look or sound too starstruck when I was
introduced! I’ve also been lucky enough to meet some famous romantic novelists
who have all been so generous with their knowledge and experience of writing
romance.
6. How long, on average, does it take you to
write a book?From first getting an idea for a story to
deciding it’s ready to release into the wild, writing a book(and editing it four
or five times!) usually takes me about a year. I’m a relatively slow writer,
and while I’d love to be able to write faster, I’ve found that for me, this is
the time I need to make the book the best I can.
7. How do you select the names of your
characters?I honestly don’t know where the names of my main
characters come from – my heroes and heroines tend to rock up in my head and
demand that I tell their story. With minor characters, I pick names that I
like, and which are right for the character’s age. I’m fascinated by the way
names go in and out of fashion. For example, there were four girls named Alison
in my class at school and yet these days you rarely see newborns being given
that name. I love some of the names that have become popular in the last decade
or so, like Summer or Savanah. I also try to avoid giving characters the same
names as my friends and relatives.
8. What creature do you consider your
"spirit animal" to be?My ‘spirit animal’ is a wolf. Wolves are amazing
animals. They live together in family groups, with the alpha looking out for
the others, and they are loyal and affectionate. A couple of years ago, I was
lucky enough to visit a wolf sanctuary and hear them howling, and it was
awesome.
9. What are your top 5 favorite movies?Casablanca – My all-time favourite movie. A
classic love story with some of the most memorable characters in cinema
history.
Once – Such a beautiful, poignant and uplifting story.
It also has a fab sound track.
Love Actually – One of the funniest rom coms
ever, but also very moving in places. The perfect Christmas movie.
Blade Runner – Set in the not too distant future,
the world of this movie is wonderfully imagined, but it’s worth seeing just for
the character Roy Batty’s (played by Rutger Hauer) ‘Tears in the Rain’ speech
alone.
Avatar – I first saw this science fiction movie
in 3D and it’s visually stunning. Even without 3D, it’s still a wonderfully
inventive story – and there’s a romantic thread to it as well, which always
appeals to me.
10. If you were the last person on Earth, what would
you do?I’d sit in a garden and read all the books in my
tbr pile, with a glass of wine to hand – and with music playing, if the
electricity was still working.
11. What fictional character would you want to be
friends with in real life?I’d love to be friends with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and
Prejudice. She’s such a lively, vibrant character, and I’m sure she’d be great
fun to be around.
12. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?Write every day if you can, but don’t beat
yourself up if other commitments mean you can’t write for a while – writers
need to spend time outside their writing space interacting with the rest of the
world, or they won’t have anything to write about. Read as many books as you
can, and not just in your chosen genre, and ask yourself what it is about them
that you like. And most important, never give up your dream, because dreams can
and do come true.
13. What book do you wish you had written?The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. It’s a
re-telling of Greek myth from the point of view of the female characters, and
it’s brilliant.
14. If you could live in any time period, what
would it be and why?I’d always choose to live in the present – I
think I’d miss 21st Century technology if I was transported to the
past. If I had to live in the past though, I’d choose Roman times, because it’s
an era I find fascinating. I’ve read and enjoyed so many historical novels set
in Roman times, and I have a collection of books on Roman history. Also, the
Romans actually had better technology –
like underfloor central heating – than other centuries right up to the
Victorian era. The thought that I’d have to learn Latin is somewhat daunting
though!
15. What is your favorite genre to read?I read books in most genres, but my favourite
genre is definitely contemporary romance, which is what I write. For me,
nothing beats a great love story, a heroine and hero who may not even like each
other when they first meet but who eventually get a happy ending to their story
– or at least a hopeful ending!
Author Bio –
Lynne Shelby writes contemporary women’s
fiction/romance. Her debut novel, French Kissing, was published when it won a
national writing competition. She has worked at a variety of jobs from stable
girl to child actors’ chaperone to legal administrator, but now writes full time.
When not writing or reading, Lynne can usually be found at the theatre watching
a musical, or exploring a foreign city – Paris, New York, Rome, Copenhagen,
Seattle, Athens – writer's notebook, camera and sketchbook in hand. She lives
in London with her husband, and has three adult children who live nearby.
Social Media Links –
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/LynneShelbyWriter
Twitter:
@LynneB1
Instagram:
lynneshelbywriter
Website:
www.lynneshelby.com
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