Summer Picnic with Jaffareadstoo ~ Jenny O'Brien ☼

☼ Jaffareadstoo is delighted to welcome you all to our Summer Picnic ☼ 

Pull up a deck chair, tie knots in your hanky and roll up your trouser legs!

☼ Summer time is here ☼ 

☼ I'm delighted to welcome, author Jenny O’ Brien to our picnic ☼

What favourite foods are you bringing to our summer picnic?

Firstly thank you so much for the invite. There’s nothing like a summer picnic to put a smile on my face. My food offering would be fresh strawberries, straight from the garden and accompanied by thick Guernsey cream and a sprinkling of sugar, all served in the best crystal bowls that only come out for special occasions like this. 

Would you like chilled white wine, a flute of Prosecco, a tumbler of Pimms, or a tall glass of sparkling elderflower cordial?

I think a chilled white wine, don’t you? Let’s leave the bubbles until later when the kids are tucked up in bed and the sun has dipped behind the horizon. 

Where shall we sit, by the pool, in the garden, in the countryside, at the seaside? 

Oh in the countryside with the grass by our feet and the sound of the light breeze rustling in the treetops above our heads. There’ll be birdsong too. A thrush hiding amongst the branches serenading proceedings. 

Do we have a wicker hamper, tablecloth and cutlery, or is everything in a supermarket carrier bag ?

A wicker hamper: we do have to look after all that crystal. The large heavy sort that comes with its own cutlery and there’ll be a strong arm to carry it. 

Do you have favourite place to have a summer picnic?

In truth, I’m more of a bag of fish and chips on the beach kind of gal with my hubby and kids churning up the sand by my side. Chips always taste best from a paper bag, don’t you think? 

Which of your literary heroes are joining us on the picnic today?

I enjoy both crime and romances so I do wonder how dear old Agatha Christie would get on with Jane Austen? Not sure they’d have a lot to talk about except perhaps Mr Wickham’s motivation and the best ways to see off Lady Catherine de Burgh. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple might turn into a love match… Now there’s a thought!

Which summer read are you bringing with you today?

Oh I always bring romances along for days out such as these. So the latest by Sue Moorcroft, Jane Linfoot or Susie Tullett. Whichever one has a new release that I haven’t read. 

What is your earliest summer memory?

Days on the beach with my sister and two brothers in Sandycove, a small beachside suburb of Dublin where the sand was always the whitest and the sea deliciously warm. It’s been years since I visited. In a way I don’t want to go back. It would be too different, the memories too sharp now my parents aren’t around to share them. 

Do you have a favourite summer hideaway?

I’m lucky enough to live in Guernsey so trips to Herm Island are a special treat. Herm is tiny and, with no cars, paradise on earth. We take the kids on the ferry and go for a swim before either a picnic on Shell Beach or a treat of a meal at The Mermaid Inn. 

Do you have a summer music playlist for reading / writing? And if so will you share with us a favourite song or piece of music that makes you feel summery?

Now this is where I fall off a cliff in interviews. I’m one of those rare people that exist best on silence. I can’t either read or write with music on, I find it too distracting so I usually have a huge pair of ear defenders on to cancel out all sound. I do like a good musical though and am currently listening to Phantom of the Opera, which my teenage daughter has just discovered. 

Do you find that your reading tastes differ between winter and summer?

No, not really although I do get through a lot of books during my summer holidays. 

Do you find it easier to write in the summer months or during the winter?

No difference really. 

Would you like to tell us a little about your latest novel, or your current work in progress?

Silent Cry is the first in a new crime series set in Wales. It follows the career of DC Gaby Darin, a second generation Italian, Liverpudlian detective whose downfall is chocolate in all its forms.

In Silent Cry she’s trying to find out what happened to Baby Alys Grant, who was abducted by her father five years before. Alys’s mother, Izzy, an artisan wool spinner, thinks she has news… Can Gaby solve the case that’s had the whole world stumped? 

Jenny, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter  @ScribblerJB

Facebook

Instagram Scribbler JB

Website and Blog

Amazon UK

More about Jenny

Born in Dublin, Jenny O'Brien moved to Wales and then Guernsey, where she tries to find time to write in between working as a hospital nurse and ferrying around 3 teenagers. She's also an avid reader, book blogger in addition to being owned by two cats. In her spare time she can be found frowning at her wonky cakes and even wonkier breads. You'll be pleased to note she won't be entering Bake-Off. She's also an all-year-round sea swimmer.

☼Thank you for coming to our picnic☼
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