Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo~ Caron McKinlay

On this quiet Sunday morning why don't you put the kettle on, make your favourite breakfast and settle down for Sunday Brunch with Jaffareadstoo

I'm delighted to welcome Caron McKinlay to Sunday Brunch

Welcome, Caron. What favourite food are you bringing to Sunday brunch?

Oh it will have to be bacon rolls with brown sauce and lashes of butter. I’m not a morning person so much prefer brunch for my Sunday breakfast. And I just don’t get people that put ketchup on bacon! Although I think its fascinating how we all stick to one particular sauce to a type of food.

Would you like a pot of English breakfast tea, a strong Americano, or a glass of Bucks Fizz?

A glass of Bucks Fizz please as I’m strange in the fact I don’t like hot drinks. My mother used to always worry about that and say “ what will you do if someone asks you around for a coffee!” I think she thought it might make me socially isolated.

Where shall we eat brunch – around the kitchen table, in the formal dining room, or outside on the patio?

I always love the idea of sitting outside on the patio. I am fortunate to have a lovely garden and spend far too much time looking at garden furniture! But the crazy thing is that I never want to sit there and eat as I hate flies and bees buzzing around. So the kitchen table please.

Shall we have music playing in the background, and if so do you have a favourite piece of music?

Yes please anything by Abba or David Essex as I love them both. They are the soundtrack to my life growing up.

Which of your literary heroes (dead or alive) are joining us for Sunday Brunch today?

VE Schwab I just adore her writing and loved The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue. It would be amazing to chat about how she comes up with her ideas. And I’d also love to meet the author of Spacehopper Helen Fisher – such a beautiful clever book that mesmerised me.

Which favourite book will you bring to Sunday Brunch?

Oh can I sneak in two please from very different genres. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger such a gorgeous book with a unique premise that had me in tears. And Silence of the lambs by Thomas Harris about a serial killer which had the best misdirection I have ever read. Not to mention the best the famous line about chianti.

When you are writing do you still find time to read for pleasure? And is there a book you would like to read but haven’t had time for …yet!

Yes, I am a reader first and foremost and read every night. For me it’s the only way to tune out my thoughts and switch off. I’m a massive over thinker! I cannot wait to read all the fabulous debuts this year. I am in a group with them and they are so talented.

Where do you find the inspiration for your novels?

I’m not one of those writers who carries a notebook and jobs down ideas. I have to wait for one to come for me and let it flutter around in my thoughts. At the moment I’m still waiting but I hope it’s not for much longer.

Have you a favourite place to settle down to write and do you find it easier to write in winter or summer?

I write in my bedroom as I find that the most peaceful and I much prefer to write in winter as there are less distractions. Although during lockdown when The Storytellers was written it was hard to tell the difference in the seasons as we never really went out anyway.

When writing to a deadline are you easily distracted and if so how do you bring back focus on your writing?

I’m very easily distracted and I’m not the kind of writer who spends a certain amount of hours a day getting words down. I have to wait until the words come to me. There is little I can do to make that happen so deadlines scare me no end!

Give us four essential items that a writer needs?

Imagination.

Resilience

A good critique partner who is honest and blunt.

A support group of authors who understand the rollercoaster journey of publishing and the insecurities you feel.

What can you tell us about your latest novel or your current work in progress?

The Storytellers

Trapped between life and the afterlife, three women meet and share their stories while discovering the truth about the men in their lives—and about themselves.

Suspended in an eerie state of limbo, an entity called the Gatekeeper tells Nikki, Ronnie, and Mrs. Hawthorne they are on the cusp of entering the afterlife—but only if the women can persuade him that in their earthly lives, they knew the meaning of love.

Fragments of their memories return, plunging them back into their pasts, and forcing them to face the desires, disappointments, addictions, lies, and obsessions they battled in life.

But before time runs out, will they find the answer to the ultimate question: what is love?

More about Caron

Caron grew up in a mining town on the east coast of Scotland where her dad would return from the pit and fill her life with his tall tales. She never thought about making a career in writing – that was what posh people did, not someone from a working-class council estate. However, her father’s death was the cause of deep introspection and her emotions gave birth to a short story, Cash, which was published in the Scottish Book Trust’s anthology, Blether. This gave her the confidence to try and believe in herself. When not blogging, reading, and writing, Caron spends her time with her daughters. She doesn’t enjoy exercise – but loves running around after her grandsons, Lyle and Noah, to whom she is devoted. Caron had three childhood dreams in life: to become a published author, to become a teacher, and for David Essex to fall in love with her. Two out of three ain’t bad, and she’s delighted with that.

Caron, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter: @caronmckinlay

Facebook: @mckinlaycaron

Instagram: @caronmckinlay

Website www.caronmckinlay.com

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