Fictional Characters in Panto: A.L. Michael casts Driving Home for Christmas

Well, no doubt, when considering the characters from my new Christmas book, Driving Home for Christmas, and how they could fit into Panto, I had some doubts. Firstly, I don’t know panto that well, beyond each year taking a bunch of less than enthused brownies and girl guides to watch something in the church hall. But there seem to be some themes, and some of the characters I knew instantly would fit.

Presenting Auntie Anna as the Fairy Godmother

Anna is exactly what you’d want in a fairy godmother; she’s wise, loving, never sees a problem she can’t fix and tends to meddle in your life in order to make it better. She’s the reason my main characters Megan and Skye decide to go home for Christmas to see their estranged family. Anna is fun and fabulous, and more than a little sneaky. She took Megan and Skye in when Megan was disowned by her parents as a pregnant teenager, and is now giving her back her family for Christmas. Who needs a magic wand?

Jeremy as The Dame

Jeremy isn’t a main character, but I love him, and he fits the role of Dame so well. Living with Anna and Megan and Skye as a lodger, he’s a playwright by day and a drag queen by night. He’s thoughtful, a constant presence in the women’s lives, supporting Anna and her old actress friends in creating a Gatsby Christmas for them, as well as being there as a shoulder to cry on for Megan, and recommending great books to Skye to make sure she has a well rounded education. He’s fabulous, fun and talented, and he’ll tell you the truth, no matter what, usually in a sassy and to-the-point kind of way. Just what you need in a dame. Plus, his makeup skills are fantastic and he’s excellent with the glitter.

Blogiversary Giveaway #19: Win Christmas eBooks from Holly Martin & A.L. Michael

The final eBook giveaway package for today is for a copy of Holly Martin's One Hundred Christmas Proposals and Driving Home for Christmas by A.L. Michael.

If you thought Harry & Suzie’s life couldn't get anymore sweepingly romantic than Harry asking her to marry him at the end of One Hundred Proposals – think again! 

It’s Christmas in a snow-kissed London, and the.PerfectProposal.com have vowed to carry out one hundred proposals in December. No easy task at the best of times - made even more complicated by Harry & Suzie trying to plan their first Christmas and a visit from the dreaded in-laws. But one hundred deliciously Christmassy proposals later they find themselves asking if everything is still perfect in their own relationship…. 

Guest Post: Inspiration behind The Last Word by A.L Michael

Today as part of my Carina UK feature I have a fab guest post written by author A.L. Michael giving us an insight into the inspiration behind her latest novel The Last Word.

How did The Last Word begin? Well, I distinctly remember scrabbling around for a spoon in my parents’ kitchen and thinking ‘Tabitha Riley- fuck that’s a good name for a character.’ The development of the story was more nuanced and varied. I was single for the first time in a few years, I’d gone off travelling after finishing my masters degree, and I was living in my parents’ house in London. I had thought that travelling around Australia and America would offer up these insights into romance, I’d thought I’d go off and fall in love once a day. And in many ways I did. With someone’s smile, someone’s laugh. I fell asleep on the coach with my earphones in, listening to Adele and thinking ‘yeah, that’s what love is.’

But I wasn’t looking for love, I was looking for a story. And real life love stories never seem to be as interesting. So I came home, recommenced working at Starbucks, and decided to write my own love story. I’d already written a novel the year before, a coming of age drama called Wine Dark, Sea Blue, which ended up being published whilst I was writing The Last Word.