My lovely writing friend, Sharon Booth, has invited me on a tour. Sadly it’s not a wine-tasting tour round the Napa Valley but, for an aspiring writer like me, it’s equally (if not more) exciting. It’s a “meet my character” blog tour where I give you an insight into one of the characters in my book. Thank you, Sharon, for passing on the baton. You can hear more about one of Sharon’s characters and discover more about her writing journey on her brilliant blog, The Moongazing Hare.

1. What is the name of your character? Is s/he fictional or historical?

Her name is Sarah Louise Peterson and she’s the protagonist in my debut novel, Searching for Steven.

 

2. When and where is the story set?

It’s set in the present day in the fictional North Yorkshire seaside town of Whitsborough Bay. I think of the setting as predominantly being Scarborough where I live but it has elements of Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay which are further up the coast. As you can see, the name is a mash-up of all three places.

For me personally, the beauty of having a fictional place is that I can take poetic licence. For example, I have some caves on the beach at Whitsborough Bay but there aren’t any in Scarborough.

 

3. What should we know about her?

She’s just turned thirty and called time on a two-year relationship which is a big thing for her as all she’s ever wanted is to settle down with Mr Right. Life unexpectedly changes for her when her auntie announces she wants to retire and that she’d like Sarah to leave London, move home to Whitsborough Bay and take over as the new owner/manager of her florist shop.

 

4. What is the main conflict? What messes up her life?

Auntie Kay’s announcement is the first conflict. She’d worked in the florists when she was younger and has kept up flower arranging as a hobby but has never considered it as her career. What if she’s no good at running a business and she wrecks everything her auntie has taken years to develop?

An even greater conflict arises when she’s packing to move home and she finds something that has been hidden for twelve years and which totally changes her outlook on life.

I can’t say much more without giving away the major plot of the book!

 

5. What is the personal goal of the character?

To find Mr Right and get her happy ever after. This may sound a bit twee but there’s a very strong reason why Sarah wants this but explaining it would be a major spoiler!

 

6. Is there a working title for this novel and can we read more about it?

It’s called Searching for Steven. It’s not yet published so you can only read more about it on this blog … for the moment. That should change within the next year.

 

7. When can we expect the book to be published?

It will be out next Monday and available in all good book shops. Ha ha, not really but it would be amazing to be able to say that. At the moment, I am unsigned and preparing to go indie in spring 2014. Searching for Steven is the first of a trilogy so I want all three to be ready when I launch

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Apologies if there are a few gaps but hopefully the book will be available next year to fill those.

What’s meant to happen now is that I pass the baton on to another writer. With further apologies, I can’t do this. As an aspiring writer, I don’t have a huge number of writing pals and they’ve all either done it already or don’t have a blog. I will post a link here to fellow Write Romantic Alys West who has also joined Sharon on the tour so you can read about her protagonist, Zoe, from her debut novel Beltane.

Best wishes for a great week.

Julie xx