Oh What A Pavlova by Isabella May
Published 3 October 2017
Published by Crooked Cat Books
372 pages
Book Description:
Kate Clothier is leading a double life: a successful jet-setting businesswoman to the outside world, but behind closed doors, life with Daniel and his volcanic temper is anything but rosy.
Some days – heck, make that EVERY day – cake is her only salvation.
Slowly but surely, the cities she visits – and the men she meets – help her to realise there IS a better future.
And the ley lines of Glastonbury are certainly doing their best to impart their mystical wisdom…
Some days – heck, make that EVERY day – cake is her only salvation.
Slowly but surely, the cities she visits – and the men she meets – help her to realise there IS a better future.
And the ley lines of Glastonbury are certainly doing their best to impart their mystical wisdom…
****
I was privileged enough to be offered the chance to pitch a few questions to Isabella on the run up to the first birthday celebrations for Oh! What a Pavlova, so tried to mix up a cocktail of personal and bookish topics ...
Given the nature of your books, I have to ask what is your cake of
choice - and what is the best name for a cocktail you have ever stumbled across
(from your hours of book research, obviously)?
Hmm, that’s a tricky one because I’m a sucker for most cakes as long as
they don’t contain stem ginger – bleugh! I’d probably have to say the
traditional Victoria Sandwich. You can’t beat it with a nice cup of tea. Simple
yet delicious and it always feels like a treat and looks so pretty.
As for the strangest cocktail name, there have been so many! I’ll go
with an unusual one which features in the book: Ginger Rabbit. It’s quite a
bizarre fusion of ginger, star anise, bourbon, Crème Yvette, black tea-infused
syrup, angostura bitters and lemon peel…
As you are now a fully fledged author with several books in print, what
would be the best hint/tip you could give an aspiring new writer?
It’s very kind of you to say so but I still feel like a goldfish in a very
large pond. The biggest lesson I have learned is to trust your gut instinct
every single time; whether that be with regards to the writing rules we have
bestowed upon us (and breaking them!) or writing about a controversial subject
from a unique slant and turning a book into a bit of a multi-genre curiosity
(my debut novel Oh! What a Pavlova springs to mind there.) Be true to yourself,
put the blinkers on to the naysayers and do your thing: That story idea has
come to you for a reason and absolutely needs to be shared.
Where is your favourite place to write? Do you have any essential items
you can't do without while you write?
I love to write in a good café that’s not too noisy – and with good
coffee and cake. Obviously that’s not my everyday reality! Generally, I’ll
snatch my moments anywhere. At my desk *read dining table*, on the beach, on
the sofa or bed, in the car. My kids go to Spanish school between 9 and 2 so my
writing day is very short. I’ll often have to ferry them to after school
activities too, so I really do make every spare minute count.
Do you tend to create plots first or do you imagine characters who find
themselves in scenarios?
I am a 100% pantser. I’ll often think of my title first… and then. I
find the characters talk to me as we are going along, and a bit like a reader,
I won’t always know how the story is going to end until we get there. I’m a bit
unconventional and every writing tutor’s worst nightmare. But my mind just doesn’t
work with spreadsheets and plans. I love the spontaneity of writing and seeing
where the wind takes me and the book.
Do you bounce ideas off a friend/family member before you start or do
you fly solo until you are happy with a basic draft?
No, I fly solo and get on with it. Friends (unless they are writers) and
family don’t understand what’s going on in my head and often give me strange
looks!
Who is the character from your books you have enjoyed creating the most?
River Jackson, the owner of The
Cocktail Bar. He has so much to teach us all about trying something new and
turning our backs on the things that are no longer working. Plus he does knock
up a pretty sensational cocktail!
My thanks to Isabella for taking time out to answer my questions.
****
Purchase your copy here: myBook.to/pavlova
About the Author:
Isabella May lives in (mostly) sunny Andalucia, Spain with her husband, daughter and son, creatively inspired by the sea and the mountains. When she isn’t having her cake and eating it, sampling a new cocktail on the beach, or ferrying her children to and from after school activities, she can usually be found writing.
As a Co-founder and a former contributing writer for the popular online women’s magazine, The Glass House Girls - www.theglasshousegirls.com - she has also been lucky enough to subject the digital world to her other favourite pastimes, travel, the Law of Attraction, and Prince (The Purple One).
She has recently become a Book Fairy, and is having lots of fun with her imaginative 'drops'!
Oh! What a Pavlova is her debut novel and was followed by The Cocktail Bar in February 2018.
As a Co-founder and a former contributing writer for the popular online women’s magazine, The Glass House Girls - www.theglasshousegirls.com - she has also been lucky enough to subject the digital world to her other favourite pastimes, travel, the Law of Attraction, and Prince (The Purple One).
She has recently become a Book Fairy, and is having lots of fun with her imaginative 'drops'!
Oh! What a Pavlova is her debut novel and was followed by The Cocktail Bar in February 2018.
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Social Media Links:
Website: www.isabellamayauthor.com
Twitter - @IsabellaMayBks
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