CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Sophie King Box Collection
**Interview**
WHEN DID YOU KNOW WRITING WAS FOR YOU?
I always knew it because even as a child, I would squirrel myself away and write little stories. But when I got older, I got terribly upset at a school careers talk and a teacher told me that it was ‘very difficult’ to make a living out of writing. I was awfully scared I’d have to do a boring job instead. In the event, I became a journalist, which was very exciting at times. Then I got my first book deal. Even after several more novels, I still have to pinch myself.
WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF THE WRITING PROCESS FOR YOU?
The final revisions. The best part is writing the first draft. The story flows out and you lose yourself in characters and plot. Delicious! But when it’s finished, you have to make sure the plot is hole-proof; that the characters are realistic and consistent; that the dialogue pushes the plot along; and that the setting is vivid. And that’s just for starters. I usually do about five lots of revisions to make sure I’ve got it as right as possible. This can be very draining and dull.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE GENRES TO READ?
I’m like one of those people who pop into different supermarkets. I like to read a very wide mix of books. At the moment, I’ve just started an historical saga which is really gripping. But the book before that was a light-ish contemporary women’s fiction book. I think it’s dangerous to stick to one genre or you might miss out. Having said that, I don’t like sci-fi or anything very violent.
WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR READERS TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR STORY?
Surprise and loss. I want to have surprised them with some twists that they weren’t expecting. But I also want them to go back and see where I’ve placed the clues. On top of that, I want them to miss the characters and to feel that they’ve lost some best friends. That’s why I sometimes use the same characters in my books, in more major or minor roles. It’s partly for me as I miss them too! I remember Mary Wesley doing that in her books – I found it very moving.
HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA IS FOR AUTHORS NOWADAYS?
Crucial. In many ways, we’re taking over the role of a very knowledgeable book assistant. We’re acting as both sales person and craftsman. I spend a lot of time Twittering, blogging and Facebooking. However, I do think we have to be careful or there won’t be any time left for writing!
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE TO ASPIRING WRITERS?
Write about something YOU want to write about. But avoid obvious topics like school reunions. Write every day so you keep the flow going. Make sure that you have something big happening in every chapter to keep the pace going. Use magazine pictures to help you visualise characters and show what they are like through their actions and speech rather than just telling the reader. Read it out loud when you’ve finished. It helps you to check the rhythm and sentence structure.
**Excerpt**
The School Run by Sophie King
Harriet is seeing a therapist about her marriage difficulties …
‘Let me ask you another question. What kind of practical things have you learned since Charlie went?’
‘Well, I’ve sorted out the bills. I’ve changed most of them to direct debit, which is much easier.’
‘Anything else?’
‘It’s not been as lonely, somehow, as I thought it would be. When the kids have gone to bed, it’s rather nice to be able to sit down with a book and a snack on my knee instead of having to cook a proper dinner for Charlie and listen to his day, even though he never bothers to ask about mine.’
Monica smiled. ‘You see? You’ve just told yourself something you hadn’t realised. If you did find yourself on your own, you’d manage better than you think.’
‘But I don’t want him to go.’ Harriet’s eyes filled with tears again. ‘We’ve been together too long. I always thought we’d get old together.’
Monica stopped smiling. ‘Longevity, Harriet, is no reason for continuing a marriage. You’re not going to get a long-service award for hanging on to a relationship that’s past its sell-by date. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to leave him or ask him to go. You have to make up your own mind on that. I’m simply pointing out the options.’
She glanced at the clock that stood on the table between them. This always happened, thought Harriet, frantically. They’d reached a crucial point just as their session was ending. ‘I’ve got this horrible feeling that even if he says he wants to go, I’m going to beg him to stay,’ she said softly.
‘I can understand that. But supposing he did and then he agreed to stay, how would you feel?’
‘That he stayed because of the children and not because he loved me.’
‘I can understand that too. Harriet, I’m sorry but our time is up. You know, don’t you, that this is our last session? I hope you feel it’s been helpful.’
No, Harriet wanted to yell. No, I want you to come with me and hold my hand when Charlie gets back. ‘Yes, thank you.’
‘If you want another series of sessions, you’ll have to ask the doctor to refer you again.’ Monica handed over a sheet of paper. ‘In the meantime, I wonder if you’d mind filling in this survey. It’s entirely confidential but it will help us work out whether you found the counselling useful and how we can improve it in any way.’
Harriet took it wordlessly. Somehow it had reduced all Monica’s wise words to a mundane commercial level. How could you ascertain how successful or helpful a counsellor had been until you had put your experience into action?
She thanked Monica again (should she have brought her a present?) and went down the stairs into the street, hoping, as she always did, that no one would see her. If by some bad luck they did, they would perhaps assume that she was a volunteer for the counselling service rather than a client. Women like her were usually on the other side of the table, weren’t they?
About The School Run
‘The School Run’ is when, during morning rush hour, parents drive their children to the school gates. Sophie King’s much loved novel has been a bestseller twice, first in print and then digitally. It was chosen as one of Chick Lit Central’s favourite novels of 2012.
Meet Harriet, Pippa, Evie, Nick, Kitty and Martine as they battle the daily school run. Share their ups and downs during one life-changing week, as they face relationship dilemmas, family dramas, secrets and lies … all leading to surprise events which cause their lives to collide.
Harriet doesn’t know whether she’ll still have a marriage by the end of the week. But as she waits for her husband’s decision about their relationship, does Harriet have more choices of her own than she realised?
Pippa is waiting too ? for the results of medical tests that could bring devastating news about her health and future. But could it be Pippa’s own actions that threaten all she holds dear?
Evie is struggling with her high-pressure job on a magazine and dealing with two step-daughters who hate her. But when her husband disappears can she rise to her biggest challenge yet?
Widower Nick worries about his teenage daughter, Julie, as they approach the anniversary of her mother’s death. Can Nick keep his guilty secret about how she died?
School teacher Kitty needs a man. At least that’s what her friend Mandy tells her. Can she win Mandy’s bet to find one by the end of the week?
Martine is unhappy as the au pair for a famous TV couple. Will she find her escape with a married man?
Meanwhile, Betty watches on, determined to find the hit and run driver who killed her young son …
Seven people living different lives, but their paths are destined to cross in ways they could never have imagined.
www.twitter.com/sophiek_writer
Love is a Secret by Sophie King
Susan’s ex-husband has turned up with his new wife, and wants to get to know Tabitha, the disabled daughter he abandoned years earlier…
Josh was crouching by Tabitha’s chair, holding her hand. Helooked up expectantly like a small boy. ‘Would it be all right if we took her out for a walk? I’d love some time with her. And we’ll be careful, honestly.’
‘No. I’m sorry. There’s more traffic since you were here last.And there aren’t enough ramps. You won’t know the way to thepark any more and —’
Susan stopped. The tears were coming as fast as she was runningout of excuses.
‘Sue?’ Steff touched her arm gently. ‘Sue, I understand. But doyou mind if we have a little word on our own? In the kitchen?’
Too scared to speak in case she blubbed out loud, Susan allowedherself to be steered out of the room. Steff sat down at the table. She nodded at the seat opposite.
‘Please.’
Reluctantly, Susan obeyed, hoping the other woman wouldn’tnotice the marmalade smears that were still there from breakfast.
Steff leaned across the table and took Susan’s hand briefly. Her hands were soft and her nails immaculate. ‘Sue, this is so important to Josh. He’s told me all about it. Everything. He feels terribly guilty and he knows he shouldn’t have walked out on you.’
‘Too bloody true,’ said Susan.
‘But he’s older now. He’s learned his lesson, just like we alldo.’ Steff squeezed her hand but Susan pulled it away. Steff’s eyes watered as though she was the one who was entitled to be hurt. ‘He’s clean too. Honestly. I know about his history and I also know he doesn’t take anything any more. All he wants is a more active role in caring for Tabitha. We’re not going to try to take over, but when we move to Bedford we’ll be that much nearer.’
She was horrified. ‘You’re moving to Bedford?’ It was only tenmiles away! They’d be here all the time.
‘But we won’t get in the way. Promise. We’ll only come whenyou say. Just give Josh a chance. That’s all I ask. And let us start by taking Tabitha for a little walk now so she can have some time with her father. Every daughter ought to have that.’
Susan wanted to refuse, but her body felt as though it belongedto someone else. Everything that Steff had said made sense. If she was honest, she’d made life so unbearable for Josh, after that MMR decision, that she wasn’t surprised he’d walked. Yes, ofcourse he should have seen more of them afterwards, but she couldn’t shut out that picture of the joy in Tabitha’s face at seeing her dad. What right did she have to deprive her poor daughter of that? She’d often seen Tabitha’s jealous looks when other dads arrived at the centre. ‘You’ll be careful with her?’ she said at last.
‘As careful as we would with a newborn baby.’
Susan shuddered, remembering what a perfect baby Tabitha had seemed.
About Love is a Secret
Love is a Secret: Sophie King brings us another heart-warming and witty romance. Four very different people meet online through What Mums Know, a new website for mothers. But none of them is quite who they seem. Little do they realise that when they start to share relationship and parenting secrets, their lives will never be the same again.
Caroline is finding it difficult to trust her husband Roger. Can a marriage really survive an affair? Then a chance meeting makes her wonder if it’s time for a fresh start …
Susan is struggling to bring up her disabled daughter Tabitha on her own, and dreams of a better life for them both. But just when it seems things can’t get any worse, a knock at the door changes everything.
Mark is learning how to be a single dad while his wife Hilary is away. But as he wrestles with the secrets he is keeping from his family, he’s blissfully unaware of the secrets they’re keeping from him.
Lisa is looking forward to the birth of her child. Will a new baby help her get over the past? Whatever that is …
Sometimes you have to keep a secret from the one you love – and sometimes you have to keep the one you love a secret.
www.twitter.com/sophiek_writer
Second Time Lucky by Sophie King
When her husband leaves her for a younger woman, Louise has to say goodbye to her comfortable lifestyle and get practical. Here she is visiting an employment agency for the first time …
‘So you read English at university and trained as a journalist.’
The woman sounded surprised.
Louise nodded.
‘But you gave up to have a career break after your second child was born?’
She nodded again.
‘So when exactly was that?’
Louise reddened. ‘About sixteen years ago. It was difficult with three children. And when I was married, I didn’t really need to . . . But I have done the odd bit of freelance work for the magazine I used to be on. Just a few articles, over the years.’
‘And have you tried finding work as a journalist?’
Louise smiled ruefully. ‘It’s not the kind of career that lends itself to taking breaks. Once you’re out, it’s hard to get back in. Most of my contacts have moved on and either become freelance like me or become editors. I did email someone I knew who is now editing a big glossy monthly but she hasn’t even bothered to come back to me.’
‘Are you qualified for anything else?’
‘Not really. But a lot of journalists go into public relations so I wondered about that.’
The woman shook her head. ‘We don’t have anything like that on our books. What about computer skills?’
‘Well, I can type, of course, and I’m familiar with Word.’
‘Spreadsheets? PowerPoint?’
Louise shook her head. ‘Sorry.’
‘Are you willing to go on a refresher course?’
‘Provided it doesn’t take too long. As I explained, I’m a single mother now. I need to earn money.’
‘But you also need more qualifications.’ The woman was flicking through a thin pile of papers on her desk. ‘Would you say you were good with people?’
Louise thought of the blazing row she’d just had with Justine over her DT coursework that morning. She was meant to have handed it in by last week and it still wasn’t finished. ‘Yes. You have to be, as a journalist. And I don’t think you lose that skill unless, of course, you’re related to people. I certainly seem to manage to rub my own children up the wrong way.’
The woman’s lips moved slightly into something that might or might not resemble a smile.
‘I think we all feel like that.’ She picked out a sheet of paper and handed it over. ‘This might suit you. The Crystal Alternative Health Centre needs a receptionist. Unlike most of the PA jobs we handle, it doesn’t actually need a wide knowledge of computer skills. It’s mainly dealing with clients and making appointments. Doesn’t start until next month but they’re interviewing now.’
Louise felt a weight in the pit of her stomach. If someone had told her, in the heady days of Charisma magazine, that in twenty-odd years time she’d be doing the kind of job that was less skilled than that of her own secretary, she would have been appalled.
‘How much does it pay?’
The woman named a rate that would scarcely have paid her weekly supermarket bill in the days when she had considered herself happily married.
‘I’m not sure.’
The woman’s eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t dismiss it. I don’t have anything else that you’re qualified for, but you’ll be lucky to get this, if I’m honest. I’ve already sent five applicants down and none of them were thought suitable.’
Louise swallowed. ‘All right. I’ll apply.’
The woman picked up the phone. ‘Good. I’ll see if I can arrange an interview.’
About Second Time Lucky
Another engaging tale of love and life from Sophie King. Meet the residents of Bridgewater House, once a grand stately home, but now converted into apartments which house a host of colourful characters, each with their own desires and secrets.
Louise thought she had everything, then suddenly finds herself as a single mum with an uncertain future. Can she build a new life for her and her children? And has real happiness been right under her nose all along?
Roddy was once the heir to Bridgewater House, but now he’s a drunken lord who’s fallen on hard times. Can he prove to his ex-wife that he has cleaned up his act, or is he about to risk everything in a desperate scheme to prove how much he loves his kids?
Molly is a famous actress, coming to terms with retirement and the recent death of her actor husband Gideon. But dare she tell anyone that Gideon still comes to visit her? And how will she react to some unexpected messages from beyond the grave?
American Marcie always fantasised about marrying an English gentleman, just like one of her Jane Austen heroines. But will two resentful stepchildren, and failed attempts to have a baby of her own, get in the way of her dream happy ending? And what would her husband David make of her secret shame from the past?
As each of these neighbours faces their own challenges, their lives are about to become entwined in ways they never could have expected.
Second Time Lucky – doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?
Author Bio:
Sophie King is the author of six novels and a collection of short stories about families, friends and lovers. Her first novel, The School Run, was a bestseller when first published in 2005, and it was a bestseller for the second time when republished by Corazon Books in 2012. Sophie also supports new romance writing through her annual writing competition The Sophie King Prize.
In between novels, Sophie writes short stories and has had hundreds published in magazines. She also gives regular talks/workshops at bookshops and literary festivals. For three years, she was writer in residence at HMP Grendon, a high-security male prison. Sophie lives by the sea, in Devon, England. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association; Women in Journalism; the Society of Women Writers and Journalists and the National Union of Journalists.
Connect with Sophie!
www.sophieking.info
www.thesophiekingprize.com
@sophiek_writer
Buy the Books!
The School Run: www.amazon.com/The-School-Run-Sophie-King-ebook/dp/B0090R7NUY/
Falling in Love Again: www.amazon.com/Falling-previously-published-Divorce-Beginners-ebook/dp/B00AR1EIYG/
Love is a Secret: www.amazon.com/Love-Secret-previously-published-Mums-ebook/dp/B00CNTMIR4/
Second Time Lucky: www.amazon.com/Second-Time-Lucky-Sophie-King-ebook/dp/B00FI33CR2/
Box Collection: amzn.to/1kPTF0S
