Author Interview: Lucy-Anne Holmes

I recently read Lucy-Anne Holmes' third novel Unlike A Virgin, and thought it was one of the funniest books I've read all year, whilst managing to run a poignant and sweet story all the way through too. I wanted to interview Lucy about her new book, her new publishing deal with Little, Brown and her thoughts on some other things, and I was lucky enough to get the chance! Here's my interview with the lovely Lucy-Anne Holmes, enjoy!

Q1. Tell us about your new book 'Unlike A Virgin'.

Unlike A Virgin is about Gracie Flowers, a brilliant estate agent and all round sorted young lady, with her own flat and a handsome steady fella. But Gracie's controlled life starts to unravel at a ferocious rate and she begins to wonder whether she's become the woman she was supposed to.

Q2. Gracie Flowers is a fantastic character - are you anything like her?! Do you ever base your characters on real people?

Thank you! I love her. No, sadly she's nothing like me! She's far braver and stronger than me and I really can't sing a note. Sarah Sargeant, the scatty, slightly alcoholic heroine of my last two books is much more like me! I have based characters on real people but they tend to morph away from the person I know while I'm writing them.

Q3. This book felt a bit more serious than your two previous novels featuring the character 'Sarah Sargeant'. Was it a conscious decision to make the tone slightly more serious or did it just happen as you were writing the book? I have to say I was still regularly laughing out loud throughout though!

Oooo, interesting question. Well, I had the idea for the Gracie Flowers story and really fell for it and for her and I just wanted to write it and do it justice. I think this book has a bigger heart than the last two and it didn't seem right to make it quite as rude and bawdy as the Sarah Sargeant ones. I am glad you still chuckled in parts though. I was pleased when my sister read an early draft and I heard her guffaw.

Book Review: Unlike A Virgin by Lucy Anne Holmes

Is Gracie in love for the very first time? You know that bit in The X Factor, when the singer tells everyone about the rocky road they travelled to pursue their dream? Well, that's Gracie Flowers' story. Gracie is very focused for a woman of almost twenty-six. Her favourite book is 'The 5-Year Plan: Making the Most of Your Life'. And her five-year plan is going very well. That is, until she is usurped from her big promotion by a handsome, posh idiot; she is dumped by her boyfriend; and discovers her loopy mother is facing bankruptcy. Hormones awry and ice cream over-ordered, a dream Gracie thought she'd buried ten years ago starts to resurface. A dream that reminds her of the girl she used to be and everything she wanted to become.
I've read both of Lucy-Anne Holmes' previous novels featuring the character of Sarah Sargeant and found them to be laugh-out-loud books that also had a fab story too. For her latest book, Unlike A Virgin, Holmes has moved over to Sphere publishers, and they've given her a brand new cover look for this book, which I think is fantastic. It's a great cover, lots of colour and I think it'll definitely stand out against a lot of the books coming out at the moment. The cover makes the book seem like a fun read, but I have to tell you that while there are a few really funny bits, the feel of the book is a lot darker and more emotional than I imagined, but in my opinion, the book is all the better for it!

Book Review: Fallen Angels by Tara Hyland

An unwanted child: San Francisco, 1958. On a dark December night, a baby girl is left at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage on Telegraph Hill. A mysterious suicide: One year later, movie star Frances Fitzgerald takes her own life. Her husband, wealthy businessman Maximilian Stanhope, is rumoured to know more about her death than he's letting on, but nothing is ever proved. A terrible secret: What is the connection between these two events? That's what Frances's daughter, Cara, wants to find out. Abandoned by her mother when she is just seven years old, her childhood is filled with hardship and loss. As a young woman she finds professional success as a journalist, but on a personal level, she still struggles to trust those around her. Soon Cara becomes convinced that uncovering the secret behind her mother's death is the only way to lay her demons to rest, but learning the truth may end up tearing her apart.

Tara Hyland is a relative newcomer to the chick lit world given that this is only her second novel. However, it's her second novel which has received 5 stars from me, so she is definitely an author I have been hugely impressed by in such a short period of time. Her debut novel, Daughters of Fortune, came out last year and it was a great read set around the world of retail. I have to admit that initially the cover of Fallen Angels didn't capture my attention, but now I have read the book, I see how it fits in with the story and I have really changed my opinion of it. It's a fairly big story, but its one that I quickly found myself absorbed into, fell in love with the characters and by the end I was so sad it was finished, that to me is the measure of a fantastic book!

Book Review: Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson

Chelsea Ross knows she's a great actress. Which is lucky, as she's just got the toughest role of her life! Washed up from Hollywood and in serious need of some cash, Chelsea jumps at the $10,000 opportunity to act as 'carer' to famous hockey player Mark Bressler, currently injured after a car crash. After all, how hard can it be to play nice and pick up after an incredibly hot invalid in need of her tender loving care? Just three months of playing nurse and the cash is hers. But Mark Bressler doesn't need help. The moody hockey player's glory days may be over, but he has no intention of letting anyone aid his recovery, least of all the maddeningly cheerful Chelsea. He's determined to get her to quit – and Mark isn't the type to give in. But then again, neither is Chelsea...

Despite the fact she's written several books with the Little Black Dress publishing label, I haven't really read Rachel Gibson's work before. I was sent her first stand-alone book (in the UK), Any Man of Mine, to review earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so when I was offered the opportunity to read the prequel (although it's released after its sequel!) to that book, Nothing But Trouble, I was eager to see if the rest of the Chinooks series would match up. I have to say I really love the covers, they aren't fancy or anything overly special but I really like them and actually quite liked the darker colours in this one, it suits the darker lead character in my opinion! Rachel Gibson's books aren't serious chick lit, they are very light and fluffy reads but that doesn't at all mean to say that there isn't a darn good story inside!

Book Review: The Importance of Being Myrtle by Ulrika Jonsson

Is a death in the family the chance for a new start? When Myrtle's husband, Austin, dies on the bus one morning, everything seems to freeze. But in reality Myrtle has been frozen for nearly forty years, locked into an emotionless marriage. So if the barriers have been lifted, why does she still feel trapped? Her daughters are a mystery to her - one prickly and defensive, the other with a closely guarded secret. And thanks to Austin's cold presence, friends are a rarity. How is a widow supposed to find herself when she's alone and unconfident of her place in the world? But hope might rest with Gianni, the kind stranger in whose arms Austin died. And when nosy neighbour Dorothy discovers Myrtle's sad news, she also refuses to let her wallow. But Myrtle will never move on until she's dealt with her past and the reason for her devotion to Austin. The truth must out, even though the consequences might prove devastating for Myrtle and her daughters ...

Celebrity novels are one of those types of books where it's either really good (Sharon Osborne, Coleen Nolan), a bit middle-of-the-road, nothing to write home about (Fern Britton) or downright rubbish (Katie Price, Kay Burley). Therefore when I was offered the opportunity to receive a copy of Ulrika Jonsson's new fiction title, I was a bit wary but decided to give it a go. I haven't read her autobiography so don't know anything of her writing style, but have been informed by the publishers that Ulrika has indeed written this herself, with no help from a ghost-writer at all. After hearing that, I was sold on giving it a go, despite the dreariness of the original cover. It's since been updated with some pinks and yellows to brighten it slightly but it's still nothing to write home about really!

Book Review: The Empty Nesters by Nina Bell

Clover Jones and Laura Dangerfield have been best friends since their children were born. Along with Clover's stylish, powerful friend, Alice, they share holidays, sleepovers, school runs and childcare. They're like one big family. But all families have their secrets. When the children leave home, Clover and Laura's lives and marriages change forever, and the old rules on love and loyalty no longer apply. And when Alice decides she wants what they've got, Clover and Laura have to find out who they really are. Without the children, can their marriages - and friendship - survive?

I've read most of Nina Bell's previous books and really enjoyed them - they are great family dramas and really draw you in when you're reading them which is what I love from a book. I have to say that when I saw the cover for her latest book The Empty Nesters I wasn't initially impressed - it looked a bit bland and didn't jump out at me like her previous covers had done at all. However, when I received a copy I thought it was actually quite nice and after reading it, I see how it fits in with the story too. As usual, Bell has delivered on her dramatic family dramas and although I felt this one was a bit of a slow burner at first, I soon found myself engrossed in it and not wanting to put it down!

Book Review: The Look of Love by Judy Astley

Bella has given up on men. Happily divorced, her latest boyfriend just omitted to tell her about his current wife, so she’s back on her own again. Then her ex-husband turns up, wanting to sell the family home in which she and their two teenage children are well settled. But all their lives are changed when a television company rents the house for a reality TV fashion makeover programme. Against her better judgment Bella finds herself taking part in the programme, and while she learns a little bit too much about what really goes on behind the scenes, she also discovers that love can appear in the most unexpected places...

Now I have to admit that the previous Judy Astley book that I read, Other People's Husbands, wasn't one I especially enjoyed, feeling that it was aimed at an older audience than me and therefore that hampered my enjoyment of it somewhat. However, I was willing to give her new book a go since I really liked the sound of it and the cover seemed enticing too. I tried to put to the back of my mind her previous book and go into it with an open mind, it's only fair to approach a book without any bias and so I began reading. By the end, I was really enjoying the book and was disappointed that it was finished, so it was most definitely an improvement in my eyes!