Author Interview: Amanda James

Today it's my pleasure to welcome Amanda James back to the blog for a chat about her new book Behind The Lie which was published last week.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing journey? 
Hi Sharon, it’s great to be here today and thanks for inviting me.

I have always written since I was a child. Sometimes it would be poems, songs and often short stories. I never thought that one day I’d be published though.  But about fifteen years ago I started writing seriously – novels mostly. They got nowhere because I didn’t really know how to write! I had great ideas and plots, but the telling left much to the imagination. I read about writing, read lots of novels and practised, and I eventually got a short story published in 2010. That was for Gentle Footprints, an anthology to raise awareness for Born Free. Because of this I found myself on stage at the hay Festival next to Virginia McKenna. I read an extract of the story to a thousand people and decided I quite liked this writing malarkey! Then in 2011 I had my first novel published and Behind the Lie will be my seventh. I have other unpublished ones (some are a bit quirky!) - So altogether I have written a total of twelve so far.

If you had to give an elevator pitch for Behind the Lie, what would it be? 
A young woman loses one of her twins near to the end of her pregnancy, but is this terrible tragedy really down to 'just one of those things’, or is there something more sinister behind her son’s death?

The birth of a child should be a happy occasion, what inspired you to write about a woman pregnant with twins and the subsequent trauma /grief of having to deal with the death of one of her babies?  
I have no idea. Often ideas just come to me, mostly when I‘m out walking on the beach. The day I had the idea for this book I was on the beach, which I now know as Holly’s beach, my main character. I looked up at a gorgeous house overlooking the ocean and imagined who lived in it and what their story was. The bare bones of Holly’s story appeared and I filled in the gaps over the next week or so.

Did you do much research about stillbirths and grief before you started writing Behind the Lie? 
Yes. I think it’s important to try to get things right. Over the years I have known people that have lost a child too, sadly. And while writing the story I had to deal with illness and diagnosis of a terminal disease of someone I’m close to. As a writer, all experiences affect your writing, good or bad.

The cover is very dramatic, did you have much creative input into its design?  
Yes, I was asked for the kind of cover I envisaged, and I think HQ has done a really great job!

Author Interview: Amanda James

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of chatting to Amanda James about two of her books that had just been published, and today I'm delighted to welcome her back to talk about her third book of the year... busy lady... Cross Stitch, sequel to A Stitch in Time, which has just been published as an eBook.

A stitch in time may save nine but a cross-stitch spells disaster …

It should be the happiest day of her life. Despite past heartache, Sarah Yates is finally marrying her true love, John Needler.

But Sarah and John can’t pretend they’re an ordinary couple. They’re time travellers and where time travel is involved, nothing runs smoothly. One minute Sarah is saying her vows and the next she is hurtled back in time to a country that is on the cusp of war, and into the company of the bad-tempered Veronica Ratchet.

Newly-wedded bliss is certainly not on the cards for Sarah as events see her travelling from the British punk era to 1950’s America. And even when she returns home she can’t escape Veronica.

But when the past and the present collide, that’s when the real problems start …

Thanks for inviting me back to your blog, Sharon!

Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect in Cross Stitch? 
Sarah plans to marry her true love, John, but will she live happily ever after? A stitch in time may save nine, but a cross stitch spells disaster ...

Did you know when you were writing A Stitch in Time that you wanted the story to continue?  
I hadn’t planned on writing another but Sarah kept whispering in my ear towards the end so I left it open.

Is this the end for Sarah and John or are they likely to crop up again in the future?
When I was writing Cross Stitch I decided that it would be the end. The same thing happened towards the final few chapters however. So ... Sarah and John might pop up in the future and there might also be others ready to take over the time travelling baton too.

Books Read: Amanda James - Dancing in the Rain

What if the responsibility for preventing a major disaster lay with you?

Jacob Weston has felt like he doesn’t belong for as long as he can remember and the strangely vivid dreams he experiences only serve to make him feel more alone … But when his job in research science takes him thousands of miles away from what he thought of as home, Jacob finds the mystery of his past begin to unravel. A trip to the breathtaking Monument Valley and an extraordinary encounter with a Navajo guide seem to hold the key to who Jacob really is. 

After meeting the beautiful Rosenya Neboyia, Jacob feels he may have found what he’d been searching for. But with this meeting is the discovery that his dreams come with a responsibility, and that responsibility is bigger and scarier than he could have ever imagined…

Amazon links: Kindle 

Guest Book Review: Amanda James - Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

When love begins with a lie, where will it end?

Doctor Tristan Ainsworth has returned with his family to the idyllic Cornish village close to where he grew up. The past has taught him some hard lessons, but he'll do anything to make his wife happy - so what's making her so withdrawn?

Karen Ainsworth daren't reveal her true feelings, but knows her husband has put up with her moods for too long. A chance to use her extraordinary singing voice may set her free, so why shouldn't she take it? Surely her past can't hurt her now? 

As a tide of blackmail and betrayal is unleashed to threaten the foundations of their marriage, Karen and Tristan face a difficult question. Is their love strong enough to face the truth when the truth might cost them everything?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

Author Interview: Amanda James

This morning it is my pleasure to welcome Choc Lit author Amanda James to talk about her latest book Somewhere Beyond the Sea which is out now as an eBook and will be available in paperback format from Monday.

Amanda certainly has been busy writing as she also has another book that has recently been published as part of the Choc Lit Lite collection, Dancing in the Rain, which I'll also be reviewing shortly.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book Somewhere Beyond the Sea?
It is set in Cornwall just a skip and a jump from where I now live. It is about husband and wife Dr Tristan and Karen Ainsworth who live in the fictional village of Kelerston. I decided to make it fictional so I could include different bits of my favourite Cornish towns. The Ainsworths are very much in love, but there is a secret that one of them is desperate to keep. The keeper of the secret is terrified that if it is revealed, their marriage, happiness and even their freedom might be at stake.

Where did the inspiration come from to write about a deep hidden secret that’s about to be unveiled? 
I really don’t know. Sometimes my ideas often just appear out of the blue! The characters always lead me and I was interested to discover if a marriage could hold together when confronted by betrayal, dishonesty and deceit. Also I love writing romantic suspense and more often than not there is always a secret of some kind in there.

Coming soon from Choc Lit

This afternoon as part of the Choc Lit feature week I've decided to take a look ahead to some of the fab books they are publishing in the next 3 months.  And with a wide selection of genres covering historical, regency, paranormal and contemporary, there's surely something for everyone. 

The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikli (published 7th March) 

How much would you pay for a clear conscience? 

Adelaide Leeson wants to prove herself worthy of her husband, a man of noble aspirations who married her when she was at her lowest ebb. Lord Tristan Leeson is a model of diplomacy and self-control, even curbing the fiery impulses of his youth to maintain the calm relations deemed essential by his mother-in-law to preserve his wife’s health.

A visit from his boyhood friend, feted poet Lord James Dewhurst, author of the sensational Maid of Milan, persuades Tristan that leaving the countryside behind for the London Season will be in everyone’s interests.

But as Tristan’s political career rises and Adelaide revels in society’s adulation, the secrets of the past are uncovered. And there’s a high price to pay for a life of deception.

Amazon links: Paperback 

Books Read: Amanda James - A Stitch in Time

A stitch in time saves nine - or does it?

Sarah Yates is a thirty-something history teacher, divorced, disillusioned and desperate to have more excitement in her life. Making all her dreams come true seems about as likely as climbing Everest in stilettos.

Then one evening the doorbell rings and the handsome and mysterious John Needler brings more excitement than Sarah could ever have imagined. John wants Sarah to go back in time ...

Sarah is whisked from the Sheffield Blitz to the suffragette movement in London to the Old American West, trying to make sure people find their happy endings. The only question is, will she ever be able to find hers?

Debut Spotlight: Amanda James

Today I'm delighted to be able to introduce you to Amanda James (aka Mandy) in my debut spotlight feature.  Mandy's debut novel, A Stitch in Time is published this week.

Mandy was born in Sheffield and now lives in Bristol with her husband and two cats.  In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, singing, and spending lots of time with her grandson.  She also admits to spending far too much time chatting on Twitter and Facebook!  Mandy recently left her teaching role to follow her ambition to live her life doing what she most enjoys - writing.