Grab your strawberries and cream and get ready to return to the beautiful Swallowtail Bay!
Summer is in full swing and the locals are getting excited for the launch of the Swallowtail Bay strawberry food festival. But will all run smoothly when festival organiser Hetty’s heart is torn between lord of the manor John Thornhill and successful bakery owner Ben?
Q&A
- Did or do you like to read comic books/grapic novels? Which ones?
I’ve never been a huge fan of comics or graphic novels. My husband likes them, but it’s never really been my thing. I’m more of a Jane Austen girl!
- Whom did you inherit your love for books/reading from?
My mum, definitely! She really helped me to find lots of new authors and recommended the classics, people like Oscar Wilde and Thomas Hardy. She even had me read Persian poetry – the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam but if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have read so widely.
- When you need a murder victim or someone you can diagnose with a serious disease or someone who is involved in a fatal accident do you sometimes picture someone nasty you have met in real life and think ‘got you’ LOL?
I’m tempted sometimes, but no. I always try and make my characters distinctive and different. I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with anyone in real life! That being said, I do sometimes use people, conversations and events as inspiration.
- How do you come up with the names for your characters?
For my main characters, I love traditional names like Esme and Hetty. For the guys, it really depends on how they look in my head! I need a name that fits them and their personality. I have a book of baby names that I often go to for inspiration. Though I crossed out baby and wrote character because I didn’t want my sisters-in-law getting ideas!
- Do write other things beside books (and shoppinglists 😉 )?
I love writing short stories when I have time, and I also write cosy mysteries under the pen name K E Coburn. I like either making my characters fall in love or killing them off!
- If a movie or series would be made from your books, would you be happy with the ‘based on’ version or would you rather like they showed it exactly the way you created it?
That’s a great question and a hard one to answer! I don’t know much about actually filming movies and all that entails, so there might be things that work better on screen than in books and vice versa. It’s a completely different medium, so I think there’d be a lot to understand before I made a decision. Having said that, I’d be grateful for any opportunity for one of my books to be turned into a film! Maybe one day!
- Who would you like/have liked to interview?
I’d love to sit down and chat with Jenny Colgan! She seems such a lovely person and I’ve read every single one of her books! She’s my favourite romance writer and really knows her stuff.
- Do you have certain people you contact while doing research to pick their brains? What are they specialized in?
I haven’t needed anyone yet. Google’s always been my best friend in that department.
- Is there someone you sometimes discuss a dilemma with?
Definitely! My mum and dad are my go-to people when I need to figure something out. I’m missing them like crazy at the moment (as I write this we’re in lockdown here in the UK because of Coronavirus) but I ring them every day. Normally, we’d take the dog for a walk and thrash out any pesky plot holes or character arcs that aren’t quite working.
- What is more important to you : a rating in stars with no comments or a reviewer who explains what the comments they give are based on (without spoilers of course)
I’m grateful to anyone who takes the time to leave a review whether it’s a star rating or something more detailed. Adding a comment lets us know what we’re doing right, what you’d like more of and maybe where we’re growing wrong. Reviewing is subjective so whatever works for you is fine! I’m just beyond happy you decided to spend time with one of my books! Thank you to everyone who’s read and/or reviewed!
Thank you, Katie Ginger and Rachel’s Random Resources
About the author
KATIE GINGER lives in the South East of England, by the sea, and she really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Summer Strawberries at Swallowtail Bay is her fifth novel. The first, Spring Tides at Swallowtail Bay is available now. Her debut novel The Little Theatre on the Seafront was shortlisted for the Katie Fforde Debut Novel of the Year award, and her stand- alone Christmas novel Snowflakes at Mistletoe Cottage was a US Amazon bestseller.
When she’s not writing, Katie spends her time drinking gin, or with her husband, trying to keep alive their two children, Ellie and Sam. And there’s also their adorable King Charles Spaniel, Wotsit (yes, he is named after the crisps!).
Author Links
website: www.keginger.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KatieGAuthor
Twitter: @KatieGAuthor
Instagram: @katie_ginger_author
Book Links
UK Amazon ebook: https://amzn.to/3bGn0yi
US Amazon ebook: https://amzn.to/2KuIdPf
B for Bookreview 