Author Interview - Sophie King

I am delighted to welcome Sophie King

Photograph by kind permission of Sophie King

Author of Tales from the Heart

Available exclusively as an ebook

Enjoy these twenty stories of love, family and friendship from the best-selling author of The School Run and The Wedding Party.

A woman cooks a meal for her ex-husband, but has more than food on her mind...
Can a new arrival remind a family of what is really important in life..?
A young couple's love transports an elderly woman into the past...
Will love second time around heal old scars..?
Warring grandparents refuse to see eye to eye...
Are family secrets best kept hidden..?
A wise man's last request brings surprises for his great-niece...

Told with wit, understanding, humour, love and romance - these Tales from the Heart, which have appeared in a range of popular women's magazines such as Woman's Weekly and My Weekly, are brought together in one collection for the first time.

Sophie, welcome to jaffareadstoo ~ thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our questions.

What inspired you to become an author?
My grandfather, whom I never knew as he died before I was born. He was in the merchant navy and read a lot at sea. He passed down his love of reading to his only child, my father. He then read to me at night from an early age while my mother took me to Harrow library every Saturday until I was old enough to do it myself. I must have written stories from a very early age because I still have some of them in very young handwriting.

Where do you get the inspiration for your short stories?

Usually it's an odd word or a quirky event or something that could be seen in a different light that might make it different. I think I see the world in a different way from other people. But then again, all authors would probably say that.

Do you write stories for yourself, or other people?

Great question! To be honest, I start off for my own amusement and then hope that it pleases the magazines I write for!

 Do you have a special place to do your writing?

My newish husband and I moved to the sea three years ago and I write at the top of our house (which used to be a B & B) in my office which overlooks the sea. It's bliss except when the doorbell goes. I'm thinking of dividing my time between my office and the local library. I believe in supporting libraries anyway - they're the backbone of literacy.

What are you writing next?

I've just finished an historical novel: I write them for the German and Italian market. I'm also in the middle of my next novel for RANDOM HOUSE. My last one came out in July and is called THE AU PAIR. It's under my other name Janey Fraser. And I got an idea this morning, when walking my dog, for a short story. So I'll be writing that tomorrow morning. I never discuss ideas before they are written as it takes away the need to tell the story. Very odd, I know.

 What are you reading at the moment? 

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon who also wrote The Shadow Of The Wind. My son has just finished it but while he was in the middle, I sneaked a look at the beginning and was enthralled by the language and mystery. I'm an eclectic reader. One week it's romance and the next it might be historical. I read most of the classics when I was a teenager and then when I was at university. But every now and then, I find something that I haven't read but should have done. One example is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, which was riveting. 

 

 Sophie - thank you so much for spending time with jaffareadstoo - we wish you continuing success with your writing career, and look forward to reading more of your books.

Sophie's first novel The School Run is has been reissued in a new ebook edition and is available for download now.