Archive for October 29th, 2009

Sophie King is one of those authors that doesn’t seem to get all that much publicity in the “chick lit” world which is a shame because she’s a fab writer! Her real name is Jane Bidder and she’s a journalist, but under the name of Sophie King, she’s written 5 fabulous novels of which I’ve read them all and loved each. Here’s a bit about Sophie from her website:

“Sophie King’s books are aimed at teenagers, mums and grans or anyone else who can identify with a chaotic family life. Sophie has three children, a dog, a cat and a sleepy terrapin – all of whom make her laugh or cry, depending on how she feels

Sophie has a pen name to distinguish her novels from her journalism. As Jane Bidder, she has written for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, Woman, Woman’s Weekly, My Weekly, Good Housekeeping and many other national publications.”

Sophie King’s books first came to my attention when I read Mums @ Home many years ago, before I started reviewing and I loved it. I then read Second Time Lucky and was hooked on her books. My favourite of Sophie’s books has to be The Supper Club, a fabulous read about a group of friends and their woes. Her latest book is The Wedding Party and is also a good read. There’s no news of a 6th book yet but I’m hopeful there will be! If you haven’t yet discovered Sophie’s books, please try them - they’re fab!

To coincide with the release of her latest book Last Christmas, which is out tomorrow, Julia Williams agreed to do an author interview with us. It makes for fantastic reading, truly one of the best I’ve conducted this year, and you can also read what her fourth novel The Bridesmaids Pact will be about.

1. Tell us about your latest book, Last Christmas?

Last Christmas is probably my most ambitious book to date, as I follow the stories of four characters in two different locations, and flashback to what happened to them all last Christmas.

For this story I created the fictional village of Hope Christmas, but it’s very much based on the town my mother lives in in Shropshire. Some of the action involving Gabriel, a local farmer, and Marianne the new primary school teacher is set here, and some is set in London following the travails of Catherine and Noel, married with four children and a host of problems. I have four children and I thought giving my heroine four too would ensure maximum disruption to her life!

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Here is the gorgeous book cover of Ciara Geraghty’s second book Becoming Scarlett. It’s due out on 21st January 2010, and if it’s anywhere near as good as her debut novel Saving Grace which I loved, it’ll be a brilliant read! Here’s the synopsis again:

“Meet Scarlett O’Hara. She’s a woman with a plan. Until now…

Because Scarlett has moved back to her childhood home with her plan in tatters. And a baby on the way.

John Smith, actuary, proper grown-up and Scarlett’s boyfriend, has left her to join an archaeological dig in a tiny village somewhere in Brazil.

But that’s not the worst bit.

The worst bit is she can’t be sure who the father of the baby is . . . even though she’s slept with exactly four-and-a-half men in her entire 35 years.

As a distraction, Scarlett throws herself into her job as a wedding planner, but even that’s not going smoothly. Because of her growing feelings for her most important client’s husband-to-be . . .

In the end it’s the person she thought she knew best – herself – who surprises her the most. Join Scarlett as she tries, for the first time ever, to navigate life without a plan.”