Chit Chat with author Anthony Lavisher!

Welcome Anthony! Thanks for joining me here.  

What inspired you to begin writing? 

Even as a young lad, I would always drift away from where I was and what I should have been doing, writing stories and imagining wild adventures. As my appetite for reading grew with me and I devoured all things Fantasy during my teens, it was upon discovering the work of British author David Gemmell, that my imagination was unleashed and I was inspired to write seriously, not just for a myself and the bottom of a dark drawer.

Why did you focus on this genre?

Growing up with Fantasy, it was, naturally, the first genre that I was drawn to, where my desire to become a writer and tell my own tales came from.

Are you working on any other books?

I have just finished my first edit on ‘Vengeance of a Storm’ my third book and the finale of my Storm Trilogy. I also have tentative chapters written on the book that will follow the conclusion of my trilogy.... though not a fantasy novel... back in a moment, burning my bacon J

Okay, here's a challenge. Sum up your current book in TWO sentences.

It’s the thrilling conclusion to the Storm Trilogy.

You’ll need to read the other two first!

Where can people buy your book?

My books are available to order from all good book stockists, online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the Book Depository and direct from myself at alavisher@yahoo.co.uk.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anthony-Lavisher/e/B0079N6V68/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

What are the 3 words that best describe you?

Creative, imaginative and inquisitive.

Tell us about your work, away from writing?

As a writer, I am never far from my writing, always thinking, never switching off, but in my other life, I am also surrounded by books, a part-time Library Assistant in Barry Library. Despite the trials of austerity and the challenges the service faces daily, I am always surrounded by my fellow authors and inspired further beyond the safety of the fantasy genre.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

Spending as much time with my wife, be it adventuring in Wales, or travelling further afield together. I love history, especially the Middle Ages, so I enjoy visiting Medieval castles, towns and cities, especially in the UK.

I also enjoy reading, cooking, watching good (and bad) films and, even now, still enjoy playing computer games (I think I am called a ‘Gamer’ these days - but then I did start out with the Atari 2600). I love nature, so I spend a lot of time walking in Wales, enjoying the wildlife and its habitat, which also inspires me with my writing.

And, when the time allows, any sport that involves a racket.

What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf?

Fifty Shades of.... only joking! 

It would probably be... ‘My Life’ by Bill Clinton.

What are you currently reading?

I have just finished ‘The Lords of the North’ by Bernard Cornwell, Book 3 in the excellent and re-titled ‘Last Kingdom’ Series. I am currently enjoying ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’ by Peter Jones, which is an enjoyable look at everything you ever wanted, or needed to know about the Roman Empire.

Tell me your 3 favourite authors?

David Gemmell, for his inspiration.

J.R.R Tolkien, for everything.

Terry Brooks, for actually taking the time, all those years ago, to write back to me.

I love music, and always interested in the musical tastes of other people. Tell me your 3 favourite songs, if you can?

That’s a hard one! Music is such a big part of all our lives and can mean many things at different stages of our journey through it. So, in no particular order, here are the ones that spring to mind now!

Queen - Another One Bites the Dust

It was the first Queen song I ever heard and I can recall, as a young child, that my father kept singing it (much to my mum’s annoyance) every time somebody died whilst we were watching ‘Gone with the Wind’ on tv.

Bon Jovi - You Give Love a Bad Name

My friends and I had just finished playing Dungeons and Dragons at his house and came downstairs to watch the last few minutes of Top of the Pops. They were doing a short montage of forthcoming songs and the last one was ‘The Jovi.’ That was it for me.

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms.

I love Dire Straits. And this song always gets me. First time I heard it wasn’t from the album, it was from an episode of Miami Vice (can’t remember which one) and it still inspires me when I am writing the more poignant scenes.

What song best describes your life?

‘It’s My Life’ by Bon Jovi.

In the story of your life, who would you like to play you?

Dave Perlmutter or if he is not available I’d love Leonardo Di Caprio, Sean Bean, or Idris Elba.

Who is the person, living or dead, you would most like to spend a day with?

It would be David Gemmell, who sadly passed away suddenly in July 2006. He was the man who inspired me to write. His tales stirred something within me, unlocked my imagination and I would love to sit with him beside the fire and share an adventure, or two.

Finally, what’s next for you? 

Next for me is the release of the final book of the Storm Trilogy (hopefully in October) and then, a modern thriller, set in India. From there, I had better get started on the other six books I have ideas for... actually, make that seven!

Click Anthony Lavisher and visit his Amazon page!

https://alavisher.wordpress.com/

Let's welcome author Helena Halme!

Welcome author Helena! Thanks for joining me here. 

What should my followers know about you? Well, I guess the most important thing about me is that I am an author from Finland! I’ve lived in the UK for a very long time, however, (over 30 years) and write in English, but my books are all set, at least partly, in Scandinavia.

What inspired you to begin writing? I’ve always written something. When I moved to the UK to marry my Englishman, I wrote a diary in both Finnish and in English, but it wasn’t until I took an MA in Creative Writing in 2004 that I started writing novels.  

Why did you focus on this genre? Writing romance came as a bit of surprise to me, really. During the MA, I wrote a quite a serious book about family and displacement, COFFEE AND VODKA, but even that book is really a romance. The central story in the novel is that of a woman, Eeva, trying to come to terms with her past so that she can love again. When I began blogging about ten years ago (how time flies!), a lot of my followers asked me why I moved to the UK. I decided to write a few posts on how I met and fell in love with my Englishman at the British Embassy cocktail party in Helsinki. He was a handsome Royal Navy Officer and I was a shy student, engaged to be married. Suddenly after 20 posts, I realised I was writing a romantic novel. When THE ENGLISHMAN first came out, it got such good reception, I decided to carry on writing in that genre, and I totally love it!

Are you working on any other books? I’ve published three books in THE ENGLISHMAN series. THE FINNISH GIRL is a prequel novella (free to download from my website www.helenahalme.com for a limited time only), and tells the story of Kaisa at the age of 15, when she falls for a much older man. It’s been dubbed ‘The Nordic Lolita’ and is based on true events, just like THE ENGLISHMAN.

THE NAVY WIFE, which is a sequel to THE ENGLISHMAN is more fictional and follows Kaisa’s life when she first moves to England to be with her beloved Englishman, Peter. It has quite a dramatic twist in the end!

I’m just putting the final touches to the fourth book, THE GOOD OFFICER, which is coming out this October. It follows Kaisa and Peter as they try to rebuild their lives after the disastrous events, which take place in the previous book.

There’s also going to be a box-set of the three first books in the series soon, with an exciting offer just before Christmas, so look out for that!

All the books are also standalone reads.

Okay, here's a challenge. Sum up your current book in TWO sentences. THE GOOD OFFICER is a story of Finnish student Kaisa and her handsome Navy Officer husband Peter, who after a short and turbulent marriage find themselves living in two different countries – once more. Can they overcome the past and love again?

Where can people buy your book? All my books are available on Amazon, iBooks, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and other online retailers. Here https://books2read.com/u/bp7jX4 [DAVID can you embed please, thanks!] is a universal link to THE ENGLISHMAN, which is now free to download for a limited period only! My paperback copies are also stocked by North London bookshops such as West End Lane Books and Daunts, and can be ordered from other bookshops.

What are the 3 words that best describe you? Blonde, loving, shy.

Tell us about your work, away from writing? When I first moved to the UK, I worked as a journalist for the BBC, and until recently, ran a Finnish/British cultural association in London. I now write full time and work part-time for The Alliance of Independent Authors as Publications Manager and Nordic Ambassador.

What hobbies do you enjoy? I love food, so have to exercise to (try) and keep the pounds piling on. Walking my terrier twice a day helps! Of course as an author, I read a lot. Plus writing still feels like a hobby, even though it’s my full-time occupation now. I can’t believe how lucky I am.

What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf? I completely love Nordic Noir, and read a lot of chilly murder mysteries set somewhere in a dark, isolated wood in Scandinavia. I guess it’s the Finn in me, wanting to read about misery while writing about love.

What are you currently reading? I’m reading ‘Truly, Madly, Guilty’ by Liane Moriarty, one of my favourite authors in my own genre of romance.

Tell me your 3 favourite authors? Only three!? This is difficult …OK:

Liane Moriarty

Jojo Moye

Doris Lessing

Ask me again tomorrow and you’ll get a different list!

I love music, and always interested in the musical tastes of other people. Tell me your 3 favourite songs, if you can? You specialise in difficult questions? Here goes

Anything by David Bowie (I just can’t choose; it’s the songbook of my life)

     ‘I’m Not Dead’ by Pink

     ‘Song 2’ by Blur (Best if you can sing – or scream – along)

What song best describes your life? ‘I’m Not Dead’ by Pink

In the story of your life, who would you like to play you? I’d love the Swedish actor, Alicia Vikander to play me. She’d have to go a little blonder for the role, though. But wouldn’t she be perfect as Kaisa?

Who is the person, living or dead, you would most like to spend a day with? Doris Lessing. She was such a brilliant author, and thinker. I can’t believe she’s passed.

Finally, what’s next for you? I’m writing the last (I think!) book in THE ENGLISHMAN series. It’s going to have quite heart-breaking events in it, so it’ll be a difficult one to write, but at the same time I cannot wait to get back to plotting the fate of my favourite characters.

You can download for FREE, "THE ENGLISHMAN" here! 

The Englishman by Helena Halme!

THE ENGLISHMAN is FREE from Amazon! 

“The Englishman is a love story: the account of the long-distance romance between English Naval officer Peter and Finnish student Kaisa, as this star-crossed couple discovers that Shakespeare’s words are still true, even in the 1980s, and the course of true love never runs smooth. Together, they contend with a broken engagement, long separations, the Falklands War, inevitable cultural differences, and the small matter of a member of the British armed forces wanting to marry a citizen of a country bordering the Soviet Union.” – Kate Allison, founder of The Displaced Nation website. 

When Kaisa is invited to the British Embassy cocktail party in Helsinki to celebrate a Royal Navy visit to Finland, she’s not looking for romance. After all, her future has been carefully planned: she’s to complete her degree, marry her respectable, well-to-do Finnish fiancé Matti, and live happily ever after.

Enter the dashing Peter, a newly qualified Royal Navy Officer. Like a moth to a flame, Kaisa falls head over heels in love with the handsome Englishman. The young lovers steal passionate kisses in the chilly Esplanade Park and promise to meet again. 

Kaisa and Peter embark on a long-distance relationship, but at the height of the Cold War, while the Englishman chases Russian submarines, Kaisa is stuck in Finland, a country friendly with the Soviet Union. 

Kaisa lives for the Englishman’s passionate letters and infrequent long-distance phone calls, but her jealous ex-fiancé doesn’t want to let go, and her old-fashioned father hates foreigners. Can Kaisa trust the gregarious Englishman? Wouldn’t she be better off going back to her faithful fiancé? 

While Kaisa struggles to keep up faith in the relationship, a war breaks out in the faraway Falkland Islands …

THE ENGLISHMAN

Let's say hello to author Suzy Davies!

Welcome! Thanks Suzy for joining me here.  

What should my followers know about you? My debut children's book, "Snugs The Snow Bear," Book One of  a Children's Fiction Series, is soon to be released!

Oh, something about me? Well, I've been writing ever since I can remember. I was born into an Anglo-Welsh family, in Reading, Berkshire, England, and my early childhood was spent in Wales.

More recently, as an adult, I have lived in Brighton, East Sussex, on the South East Coast, in Britain, and in Bournemouth, on the lovely South West Coast, too. I currently live halfway between Daytona Beach, and Orlando, of Disney fame, in The States, with my writer husband, Craig.

I have a lifelong love of the sea, as "Snugs" readers will soon discover! I am passionate about the environment and nature, but I also like to spend time in the city. It's all about balance.

I was a teacher and lecturer in English for over 10 years, which is useful for an author who writes for children. Now, I am almost a full time author, who runs other businesses, including a Life-Coaching Business. I like variety!

What inspired you to begin writing? The inspiration for "Snugs The Snow Bear" was "The Isle of Wight Polar Bear" optical illusion, etched into the cliffs, on The Isle of Wight, in The United Kingdom.

I began writing at six. A teacher called Mrs Pontefract, at senior school, encouraged me to write, and I guess it just developed from then on.

Why did you focus on this genre? My focus is currently  on Children's Books and "The Snugs Series"  because I believe it is important to encourage children to read Literature, to give them a firm foundation for the future. There is no other genre which has the power to impact children growing up, and generations to come.

I also believe that the young at heart enjoy reading magical children's fiction, which brings out the creativity and curiosity of the natural child within us all.

My work for children has strong characterization, which helps children identify with their favourite character, and develop empathy. I love creating scenes, in urban and not so urban environments, too.

Snugs's tales of derring-do give children a sense of adventure, and curiosity about the world around them. Children can share books with their parents, care-givers, teachers, and siblings, which deepens personal bonds, and creates a sense of focused fun and learning.

It is my cherished hope that my books will be used in schools, too, to teach young readers across the curriculum. "Snugs The Snow Bear," is a book which will inspire kid's imaginations and entertain, and educate them, as well. Children can learn about endangered species, and about global warming by following "Snugs" and his friends in my adventure series.

Are you working on any other books? Yes, I am! I have always said "one thing at a time," but while I am awaiting the completion of the "Snugs" illustrations, I am writing a fiction book, "The Talisman"

Okay, here's a challenge. Sum up your current book in TWO sentences. "Snugs The Snow Bear," is a magical adventure book for children aged 6-10, and the young at heart, with a message about the environment. Come follow "Snugs", the charismatic polar bear, and his menagerie of animal friends, as they voyage to The Isle of Wight, and beyond!

Where can people buy your book? At my publisher's (top secret until the launch,) and on Amazon, and in all good bookstores! It will be launched fairly soon!

What are the 3 words that best describe you? Passionate, curious, imaginative.

Tell us about your work, away from writing? I have recently taken my life coaching business across The Pond, which means I am in the process of getting known here. Things I have learnt from being certified in life coaching have carried over and informed my writing. I post articles about how to get motivated and inspired, as well as articles for writers to draw on, to improve their understanding of the process.  

My writing is the most important work I do! I love it so much, I do it every day!

  

What hobbies do you enjoy? I love hobbies which take me near water – rambling on nature trails, walking the beach, and boating on the lake!

I also enjoy going to gigs, eating out, and mall-shopping.

At home, I enjoy reading and cooking.

What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf? No surprises, I'm afraid! You can see what I intend to read on Goodreads, although I tend to avoid too much reading when I am in a prolific writing phase.

What are you currently reading? I am reading, "Absalom's Daughters," by Suzanne Feldman.

Tell me your 3 favourite authors? In  Children's Books, I love A.A. Milne, Raymond Briggs, and Michael Bond.

I love music, and always interested in the musical tastes of other people. Tell me your 3 favourite songs, if you can? "Eagle," by Abba, "Waterloo Sunset," by The Kinks and "Magical Mister Mistoffelees," from "Cats, The Musical"

  

What song best describes your life? "The Writer," by Ellie Goulding.

  

In the story of your life, who would you like to play you? Kate Winslet or Meryl Streep.

Who is the person, living or dead, you would most like to spend a day with? J.K. Rowling!

Finally, what’s next for you? I want to write more books!

To find out more about Suzy, just click here website!

FIVE WEEKS is FREE for FIVE DAYS!

From Monday 22nd August FIVE WEEKS is FREE for FIVE DAYS! 

This is another true story and this time set in London, Eastbourne and America! I worked for an Estate Agent in North London and I attend a party along with my friend Steve in Islington. Then just after Steve disappears to the loo, two guys come into the kitchen where we were and dragged me across the floor punching me in the face and ripping my hair out. 

A few months later I'm threatened by the same guys from the party, BUT this time with a gun in my back and told if I'm seen in the area again, they will have no hesitation in using the gun. 

So after resigning from my job, I was invited to spend Christmas in Eastbourne with my girlfriend Jenny at her parents place . We decide to stay and move to Brighton where I was offered a job as a tele-sales manager for an American portrait company, but first must take a trip to Pennsylvania for a five week training course. 

FIVE WEEKS is a story of those weeks in America and where in a remote Pennsylvania woodland, I was nearly left for dead by my cocaine addict boss and his brother! 

Some reviews for FIVE WEEKS! 

5* Review from America! Action Packed. Fantastic. Great Writing. 

5* Once again, like WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME, David has given us readers another page turner!

5* I’m an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction. However, it’s rare for me to encounter a piece of fiction that I enjoy enough to spend the time to write a review. Good fiction, in my opinion, is engaging, reveals something important or interesting about some aspect of the human condition, and—above all—has good story-telling. Five Weeks succeeds in all of these areas. The writing is witty and highly original. Read the first chapter and you’ll be hooked. 

4* This is an easy to read book, about an estate agent who due to circumstances leave London. He lands a job as a tele sales manager and has to go to America for five weeks of training. The adventure starts for real then. I really enjoyed this well written novel. 

5* Having read the authors first book, WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME which I loved, I had to read this and wow.This is a great story and one yet again I will recommend. 

Click FIVE WEEKS to download!

Meet author Ray Green who has ironing as one of his hobbies!

Welcome Ray! Thanks for joining me here.  

What should my followers know about you?

I live in Chichester, West Sussex, in the UK. I’m married, with two daughters who have now grown up and flown the nest. My wife, Rhonda and I have a second home in Spain, where we now spend around 40% of our time and where I do much of my writing.

What inspired you to begin writing?

My former career, spanning some 30 years, was in business, much of that time operating at Director or Chief Executive level. I eventually became weary of the politics and backstabbing of the corporate rat-race and, together with some senior colleagues, decided to attempt to buy the company I worked for from the huge American multinational corporation which owned it, in a management buyout. This turned out to be far easier said than done, and the incredibly tortuous chain of events which ensued provided the inspiration for my first book ‘Buyout’, a fictionalised account of a group of guys (and girl) who try to do a similar management buyout – with alarming consequences.

Why did you focus on this genre?

‘Buyout’ is a business/financial thriller. It was natural for me to write in this genre because I have extensive real-life experience of the corporate world. The sequel, ‘Payback’ is also in this genre, while the third book in the series, ‘Chinese Whispers’ veers much closer to mainstream action thriller territory. The fourth and final book in the series ‘Horizontal Living’ is a comedy thriller. 

Are you working on any other books?

Having now completed the four-book ‘Roy Grove Thriller’ series I’m planning to write a standalone conspiracy thriller. Right now it’s in the very early formative stages but I hope to start work on the manuscript proper before the end of 2016.

Okay, here's a challenge. Sum up your current book in TWO sentences.

‘Buyout’ is a gripping and compulsive story about the power of money to unveil the deepest in human nature. Lies, blackmail, betrayal, and personal vendettas conspire to wreck careers, marriages and lives.

Where can people buy your book?

‘Buyout’ is available in both paperback and kindle versions from Amazon. The paperback version can also be ordered from any bookshop by quoting the ISBN  978-0-9575138-1-5

What are the 3 words that best describe you?

Determined, Impatient, Particular
Tell us about your work, away from writing?
I’m retired from full-time employment now, but I am president of the community of 70 owners in the apartment complex in which my Spanish home is located.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

Cycling, motorsport, photography. Weirdly, I also quite like ironing!

What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf?

Collins Bird Guide.

What are you currently reading?

‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown.

Tell me your 3 favourite authors?

Wilbur Smith, Simon Scarrow, Dan Brown.

I love music, and always interested in the musical tastes of other people. Tell me your 3 favourite songs, if you can?

‘Brothers in Arms’ by Dire Straits, ‘Holding Back the Years’ by Simply Red, ‘Bad Love’ by Eric Clapton.

What song best describes your life?

Tubthumping (I get knocked down) by Chumbawamba.

In the story of your life, who would you like to play you?

Harrison Ford.

Who is the person, living or dead, you would most like to spend a day with?

Albert Einstein.

Finally, what’s next for you? 

Getting down to writing the next book.

Buy  BUYOUT from Amazon!

Let's meet author Patricia Furstenberg!

Welcome! Thanks for joining me here.  

Hello, David and thank you. Happy to be interviewed by you.

What should my followers know about you?

I come from the country that bestowed the world with Eugene Ionesco and Emil Cioran, Mircea Eliade and Mircea Cartarescu. I grew up in Eastern-European Romania during the communist ruling, a time when there was severe censorship on the written word. But it was a good era too, a time when men would open the door for a woman and they would kiss her hand in greeting, taking off their hats. At least my father used to. I grew-up considering writers to be really heroic people. Back then writers could easily place themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time with their work. *smile* But as a job, writing would have hardly put food on the table. That’s why I studied Medicine; I have a degree in Dentistry. A few years after graduating I met my future husband and decided to move to sunny South Africa, for love. Family life soon proved beneficial because, in order to nurture my children, I had to find a way of nurturing myself, in my own way. And this is why I began writing again.

I’ve always been a bookworm and writing has become second nature to me. Whenever I look back I remember having this feeling of well-being whenever I would put pen on paper.

Reading Agatha Christie’s “An Autobiography” is what kindled my desire to take up writing seriously and later on winning two chapters of the “Write Your Own Christie” Competition in 2014.

What inspired you to begin writing? 

There have always been dogs in my life and then Pete came along, yes, that’s how it all started; with Pete the elephant. He would sit on the shelf and watch me with that twinkle in his eye. I could almost hear him saying: “I could tell you all of my happy adventures and you could write them down! Why don’t you?” I mean, all writers hear voices, don’t they? So one hot day, with almost no clouds at all over the tall, bright blue South African sky, I began writing about ice-cream flavoured clouds, lizard shaped clouds and about snow. Of which we see hardly any where we live. Oh, yes, lots of snow! I asked myself what would happen if you were a small dog with a tiny little burrow all to yourself in the middle of a snow covered forest?  Amazing things would come your way! The first edition was titled “Little Friends, Big Adventures” but after I had illustrated it I renamed it. That’s how “Happy Friends” was born.

Why did you focus on this genre?

Probably the 10 years of reading and exploring children’s books with my two amazing kids paved the way.  My stories nurture positivity, imagination, empathy, friendship, generosity, adventure and of course they have happy-endings. Children need to have friends, it is as necessary to them as the air they breathe. Living in post-apartheid South Africa, the “Rainbow Nation”, I’ve noticed how spontaneously children make new friends. To them history has no timeline and life has no racial limitations. A hand is a hand and a smile is just that, an invitation to smile back. My stories portray friendships between diverse animals, a toy, a lizard and the wind; a dog, a dragonfly and a bee. And they all have a happy-ending. Children need happy-endings.

Are you working on any other books?

Yes. I’ve been asked to write “The Book of Life”. This is the only book that Little Tail the dog owns in “Happy Friends” and he looks to it for advice whenever he needs guidance. Top of my Christmas Wish List is to finish my historical thriller. When I was in junior college I almost made it to the History Olympiad, then I came down with chickenpox. History is like a book of knowledge; you can find so many answers to modern questions in there, with medieval history being so fierce. Nothing was taken for granted then and life, probably, was the scarcest item on the market; perhaps because there was no compassion. But there were great friendships and there was love. Was love accessible to everybody? What did one do if one was a Prince, sworn to protect his country and his people? And his name was Vlad the Impaler, ruler of Wallachia? And no, he was not Dracula. * - sigh*

Okay, here's a challenge. Sum up your current book in TWO sentences.

What do a toy elephant, a dog, a lizard, the wind, a dragonfly, a squirrel and a bee have in common? They take part in adventures and discover how easily friendships can be built and that there is always sunshine at the end of the rainbow… shaped out of clouds.

Where can people buy your book?

Right now book lovers can buy “Happy Friends” in kindle format from Amazon!

From September 2016 it should be available to purchase from other popular eBook retailers such as Nook Press, Kobo Writing Life, IBookstore, BN.com etc.

What are the 3 words that best describe you?

Friendly, persevering, courageous.

Tell us about your work, away from writing?

I care for my family, do extensive research for my historical novel and have recently begun to write a series of articles for mypuppyclub.net Oops, there’s writing again! *laughs*

What hobbies do you enjoy?

I cycle, enjoy cooking and drawing and I love music, especially classical music. Oh, yes, occasionally I dabble in haikus. Oh, writing again! *grin*

What would people be most surprised to see on your Kindle or bookshelf?

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo… The works of Emil Cioran? A copy of Agatha Christie – signed by her nephew, Mathew Prichard? Some books on architecture? We have many bookshelves overflowing with a wide variety of books, from children’s books, novels, literature greats to non-fiction etc. Every member of our family loves to read. Reading a wide variety of genres opens the mind and leads you to new places.

What are you currently reading?

I’m up to the 7^th book in the “Outlander” series, “An Echo in the Bone”. I’ve only discovered Diana Gabaldon this year. Her writing is alluring and her attention to historical detail gripping.

Tell me your 3 favourite authors?

Agatha Christie, Camil Petrescu, Dan Brown.

I love music, and always interested in the musical tastes of other people. Tell me your 3 favourite songs, if you can?

With pleasure. Music has always been a big part of my life. I could listen endlessly (ask my children *laughs*) to Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto No.5, especially the 2^nd Movement. I love, love, love Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune” and, of course, bringing back so many happy memories from home, George Enescu: “The Romanian Rhapsody”. There’s something magical about listening to composers from your own home land. Their notes seem to be playing in your own heart’s language!

What song best describes your life?

I don’t know any songs about coffee, I’m sure there are some. So it will have to be Cindy Lauper’s “True Colours”. It is a song about not being afraid to show your true self to the world. And this is what a writer does, isn’t it?

In the story of your life, who would you like to play you?

Meryl Streep, please? She’s such a warm, yet witty actress! She could make anyone look grand on screen!

Who is the person, living or dead, you would most like to spend a day with?

Agatha Christie, without any hesitation. There is so much already said about Agatha Christie the writer, but the woman? Besides, our birthdays are only two days apart!

Finally, what’s next for you? 

I would love to see “Happy Friends” in print and I must finish the first draft of my historical novel. 

Thank you, David, this interview felt like an hour at the spa!

 Click HAPPY FRIENDS from Amazon!