Debut Spotlight: Linda McLaughlan

Under the debut spotlight today it's the turn of author Linda McLaughlan whose debut novel Chasing Charlie is out now as an eBook and will be published as a paperback next Thursday.

Linda McLaughlan has worked in film and TV in both her native New Zealand, and in the UK where she lives now. She spent some time backpacking through Asia where she met her illustrator husband and moved to England. She lives on very little sleep in a quiet lane in deepest Hampshire with her husband, two children, five chickens and string of foster dogs. Chasing Charlie is her debut novel.

When unlucky-in-love Sam bumps into her first boyfriend, the charming but roguish Charlie, she falls head first for him all over again. Even though he broke her heart, she’s determined to win him back – even if she has to chase him all over London...

Sam’s friends have their doubts about whether cheating Charlie is really the man for her, but they have their own problems to deal with. Uptight Mara is struggling to trust anyone after a bad break-up; sexy corporate go-getter Claudia has her self-confidence rocked after a health scare; and sensitive, intelligent Ed, has been secretly, hopelessly in love with Sam for years...

As Sam chases her lost love like a woman possessed, getting into ever more outlandish situations and making a fool of herself in the process, she finds herself wondering just how far she’ll go to win Charlie back. Or will she finally see what’s right under her nose?

Thanks to Linda's publishers Black & White publishing I am able to share with you an extract from Chasing Charlie to whet your appetite.

Chapter 1

SAM
It was about half past five and it felt like most of W1 were on the footpaths that evening looking for somewhere warm, dry and well stocked. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem. I’d been in London for long enough to handle a spot of rain and a few extra people about, but that evening my reaction skills were somewhat lacking. My badly chosen pumps were wet for a start. Mara had taken one look at me that morning and her eyebrows had jumped halfway up her head. She was right of course. It was a boot day, not a pump day. But those eyebrows – you know the kind, they say a thousand (mostly patronising) words in the space of a few millimetres. So I left the house without changing my footwear. The roles at 21 Harvist Road, Queen’s Park, were clear-cut. Mara was the sensible one; I was the ditzy one. It was an excellent arrangement.

Except, of course, when I lost sensation in my toes. Then it was just bloody stupid.

I was taking my sodden, stupid self to meet the girls at the pub, cursing my feet and all things cold when out of nowhere someone rounded a corner and walked straight into me. A sharp intake of breath and a big splash later, I was on my bum in a puddle.

‘Fuck  me, it’s you,’  I whispered, the world tilting (it really was!) as I took in who was reaching out to help me up.