Debut Spotlight: Colette Dartford

Today it's my pleasure to welcome author Colette Dartford into the debut spotlight so that we can find out a little more about her debut novel Learning to Speak American which is published in eBook format tomorrow (thanks Emma for the fab questions for Colette).

A Londoner by birth, Colette Dartford wrote her debut novel, Learning To Speak American, while living in California's idyllic Napa Valley. Since returning to England she has completed a second novel, The Sinners, and is currently working on a third.

Colette lives in the Georgian city of Bath with her husband and two Bolognese dogs.

Website: http://colettedartford.com
Twitter: @ColetteDartford
Facebook: colettedartfordauthor

Learning to Speak American originally made it through to the quarter finals of the Amazon First Novel Price so how does it feel to now having it being released first as an eBook with paperback publication to come next year?  Does it feel like your dream has become a reality at last? 
Absolutely. I entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) in 2009 with a first draft of Learning To Speak American. I’m a self-taught author so it was far from polished but what the judges really liked was the story. Their reviews were unanimously encouraging and even though I didn’t progress any further in the competition, I continued to work on Learning To Speak American and eventually it paid off. In 2014 I was signed by United Agents and earlier this year got a two-book deal with Bonnier Publishing’s new imprint, Twenty7Books. They operate a ‘digital-first’ strategy which means they publish in e-book first and then paperback. As a debut author all of this is new to me and there’s a huge amount to learn, but it’s exciting too and has given me a tremendous sense of achievement.

Can you give us a brief outline as to the themes and content of the story? 
Learning To Speak American is about a marriage tested to breaking point following the accidental death of a couple’s only child. The novel begins two years after the tragedy so it’s not about the incident itself, but how it has affected them and their relationship. They’re not honest about their feelings and that is what tears them apart. An anniversary trip to America is a last ditch attempt to save the marriage and they impulsively buy a derelict house to renovate. But as the wife immerses herself in the project and begins to embrace life again, her husband’s life begins to fall apart. It is only when their dark secrets are revealed that they are forced to face up to the truth about themselves, their marriage and their future.