Blog Tour ~ The Day I Lost You by Fionnuala Kearney

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be hosting a stop on 

The Day I Lost You Blog Tour

Please welcome back to the blog

Fionnuala Kearney

~After reading The Day I Lost You I asked Fionnuala this question~

"...The major theme of The Day I lost You is about love and loss and the ways we all grieve for what we perceive to be lost. When you write about such an emotive subject - how much do you draw on your own life experiences and did you find this theme difficult to write about?..."

Love and loss are common themes in my novels, though they appear in very different guises. And in writing about relationships as I do; in wanting to peel back the layers and see what’s really going on underneath, I think the truth is the writer has to offer a little piece of themselves up.

I’ve been lucky enough never to suffer either of the primary scenarios I’ve written about so far; a devastating marital betrayal in my debut You, Me and Other People or the potential loss of an extremely loved child in my second novel The Day I Lost you - but in opting to write about such life changing topics, I have to be prepared to dig deep. I have to use the feelings I have felt during whatever losses or grief I’ve personally faced. Sometimes, the only thing that makes the right words appear on the page at the right time is your own life experience.

I think love and loss are almost inextricably linked, and find it almost impossible to write about one without the other! I want the reader to believe in my characters and their story and real life is such that it will always throw a curve ball at even the most successful long-lasting love story. Real life is such that even in the most honest relationship, there are moments where doubts arise and a little bit of something beautiful is, perhaps, chipped away, lost. In exploring the loving bonds of couples, friends, siblings, lovers its inevitable there will be a sprinkling of disappointment, jealousy, or betrayal of trust - so it’s just a matter of time before some feelings of loss and grief appear. One of life’s yin and yang certainties… 

With The Day I Lost You, Jess is not only forced to face the potential loss of her only twenty five year old daughter, Anna, and to raise her five year old grandchild, Rose, but as facts unfold, the possibility that she never really knew Anna at all. In writing the story, though I’m a mother to grown up children, I still found it difficult to write some fairly heart-breaking scenes –probably especially because I’m a mother! The book questions the unconditional love we all feel for our children and whether there is ever anything a child could do that would stop that flow of love – very emotive stuff!

I think I’ve come to the conclusion that, in my writing life, I like rooting under the bonnets of the bonds we hold precious. I like examining what happens in our loving relationships – the good and the bad. After all, we’re all flawed beings, but often, it’s our flaws as well as our strengths that make us so very human.

Harper
22 September 2016

My thoughts about the book..

The implications of loss are terrible to imagine, and for Jess, when she gets the awful news that her daughter Anna is missing in a skiing accident she knows that her life is irrevocably changed. Losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare, especially when that child is also a parent, and even though bringing up Rose, her five year old granddaughter is a mixed blessing, Jess can't help but long for the news that Anna is alive and well and will soon be returning home to the family.

The story is beautifully written and shares so generously the minutiae of Jess and Rose's daily life that we come to love them and rejoice in their small triumphs and yet, we also sink into compassionate despair as Jess reels from one bad situation to another. And if we’re truly honest, we are relieved that our life is nothing like Jess’s and yet, in a heartbeat, this scenario could easily happen to any one of us.

Loss can be a terribly destructive force and Jess whilst superbly strong on the surface, is really like the proverbial swan, calm and unruffled on top but underneath paddling like fury. It is only with the help of her family and close friend, Theo, that Jess can begin to make sense of what’s happening in her life, and yet, Theo the troubled the guardian of so many secrets, is subsequently to be found facing his own demanding demons.

I loved how the story looked at the way that families interact and also of how relationships vary and alter over time but what was also important was the understanding of just how brittle are the bonds which tie us all together, and of how easily they can be broken into millions of tiny pieces. The fragmented pieces of Jess’s life and the way she deals with the hand that fate has dealt her, forms the heart and soul of the novel and such is the emotional pull of the story that there were times when sentiment got the better of me and I struggled to read without a great big lump in my throat.

There is no doubt that this talented author has a real skill with words and in this story which is rich in emotion and filled with an abundance of well-loved characters she has, once again, excelled herself. 

Best Read with...A succulent chicken casserole and a glass of Irish coffee, smooth as silk and undeniably heavy on the alcohol..

More about the author can be found on her website click here.

Follow her on Twitter @fionnulatweets


The e-book is out now and available to buy from Amazon


The paperback is published on the 22nd September and will be available on Amazon and in all good book stores.

Huge thanks to Fionnuala for her guest post today and for sharing her book with me and also to Jaime and the team at Harper  for the invitation to be part of this blog tour

Blog Tour runs 19th - 30th September

Do visit the other stops on the tour for more exciting content

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Sunday WW1 Remembered..

Musicians of The Great War

Joseph Maurice Ravel (1837 - 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor,  born in the Basque town of Ciboure in France. During the war Ravel tried to enlist in the French Air Force as a pilot but both his age and health thwarted his ambition, so instead he joined the Thirteenth  Artillery Regiment as a lorry driver. He was distressed by what he saw during his war years and composed little, however his most substantial wartime composition Le Tombeau de Couperin was composed between 1914 - 1917 and each movement is dedicated to one of Ravel's friends who was lost during these years.

Le Tombeau de Couperin

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Review ~ Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe

Viking
June 2016

A bit of blurb..

This is the story of Lizzie Vogel, a 15 year old girl who finds herself working in an old people's home in the 1970s. The place is in chaos and it's not really a suitable job for a schoolgirl: she'd only gone for the job because it seemed too exhausting to commit to being a full-time girlfriend or a punk, and she doesn't realise there's a right and a wrong way to get someone out of a bath.

Through a cast of wonderful characters, from the assertively shy Nurse who only communicates via little grunts to the very attractive son of the Chinese take away manager, Paradise Lodge is the story of being very young, and very old, and the laughter, and the tears, in between.

My thoughts about the book..

I was really intrigued by the premise of this story of Lizzie Vogel, a feisty fifteen year old who despite everyone's best efforts to get her to attend school to do her O'Level examinations, Lizzie seems to find respite, and extra pocket money, by working in a local old people's nursing home.

Setting the novel in the 1970s was inspired as it allowed the author rather more poetic license, as to have a fifteen year old working in a nursing home with today's stringent CQC/CRB checks just wouldn't be allowed. Thus this literary freedom gave the novel its energy and I really enjoyed going behind the scenes at Paradise Lodge. The chaos of the place and its unusual ethos of elderly care made me laugh out loud in places as it was eerily reminiscent of my own experience of working in a nursing home in the 1990s. It would seem that time doesn't always elicit change. The story of Lizzie's experience with the false teeth is a story which has circulated throughout my nursing career and it still brings a smile to my face when I hear it recounted.

The author has done an excellent job of recreating a more innocent time. Lizzie's interaction with the old people in the nursing home was especially poignant and her relationship with her own family, which was rather secondary to the story, was well handled. Some of the scenarios that Lizzie finds herself in were rather over the top, but this, I think, is what gives the story its rather naive charm. The story has equal light and shade, laughter and tears and I enjoyed reading it very much.

Best read with...a bowl of chicken soup and a slice of bread and butter..

More about the author can be found on her website by clicking here 

Follow the author on Twitter @ninastibbe

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Review ~ The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

Harper 2016

A bit of Blurb..

Dolly Lane is a dreamer; a downtrodden maid who longs to dance on the London stage, but her life has been fractured by the Great War. Memories of the soldier she loved, of secret shame and profound loss, by turns pull her back and spur her on to make a better life.

When she finds employment as a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, Dolly takes a step closer to the glittering lives of the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz and rebellion. Right now, she must exist on the fringes of power, wealth and glamour—she must remain invisible and unimportant.

But her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she responds to a struggling songwriter’s advertisement for a ‘muse’ and finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene and into the lives of celebrated actress, Loretta May, and her brother, Perry. Loretta and Perry may have the life Dolly aspires to, but they too are searching for something.

Now, at the precipice of the life she has and the one she longs for, the girl from The Savoy must make difficult choices: between two men; between two classes, between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. A brighter future is tantalizingly close—but can a girl like Dolly ever truly leave her past behind?

My thoughts about the book..

The prologue starts in 1916 and in a small Lancashire village Dolly Lane sees her sweetheart, Teddy go off to fight in the Great War. We then fast forward to 1923 as Dolly takes up a position as a chambermaid at The Savoy Hotel in London.There she comes into contact with the rich and famous, meeting people who live such lives that Dolly can only barely imagine. However, the fickle finger of fate, and a chance meeting with a struggling musician, soon propels Dolly into  a very different sort of life.

What I loved about this book was the way that the author very cleverly brings the past to life. There is a glittering reality to the story which is quite compelling. From the opulence of the guest suites at The Savoy Hotel, to the dusty backstage areas of London's theatre scene, the glorious and not so glorious image of the roaring twenties starts to come alive in the imagination.

The author has certainly done her research and fills the novel with wonderful descriptions of what it was like to be young and living in London at that time. I especially enjoyed the image of Dolly and her friend Clover as they try on rouge and pancake powder  in Woolworth's and spray the heady scent of the latest Yardley perfume on themselves. But amongst the gaiety is also sadness, the poignancy and heartbreak of Teddy's story which runs alongside that of Dolly, and also of the uneasiness of Dolly's association with the celebrated actress Loretta May, a woman who is facing her own particular demon.

Overall, this is a really good evocation of 1920's England, and as it follows the fortunes of this disparate group of people you can't help but become involved in the story of their intertwining lives and by the end of the novel you really hope that everything is going to work out for well for them all.


Fans of this talented author will be delighted with The Girl From the Savoy which was published in the UK by Harper Collins on the 8th September.

Best Read With.. a cup of Earl Grey tea and a slice of Battenburg

About the Author

Hazel Gaynor's debut novel The Girl Who Came Home was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and winner of the 2015 RNA Historical Romantic Novel of the Year award. Her second novel A Memory of Violets was also a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Hazel writes a popular guest blog 'Carry on Writing' for national Irish writing website writing.ie and also contributes feature articles for the site, interviewing authors such as Philippa Gregory, Sebastian Faulks, Cheryl Strayed and Rachel Joyce among others.

Hazel was the recipient of the 2012 Cecil Day Lewis award for Emerging Writers and was selected by Library Journal as one of ten big breakout authors for 2015. Originally from Yorkshire, England, Hazel now lives in Ireland with her husband and two children.

Website click here

Twitter @HazelGaynor

Facebook click here



My interview with the author about The Girl from the Savoy can be found by clicking here 

My thanks to the author and to Harper Collins for my review copy of this book.

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Roald Dahl 100...

Roald Dhal was a British writer. He wrote novels, short stories and poetry

 but he is best remembered and loved for his children's stories.

He was born in Cardiff on September 13th 1916

Everyone has a favourite Roald Dhal book

These are mine..

It doesn't matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you.

The Witches

We is in dream country. This is where all dreams is beginning.

BFG

The author in my spotlight is ...Jane Lambert

I am delighted to welcome the author Jane Lambert to Jaffareadstoo

Learning To Fly by Jane Lambert

Whatever would possess someone to give up a well paid job travelling the world, a beautiful flat, a flashy car, a pension and security to enter a profession that boasts a 92% unemployment rate?

That’s what I did 25 years ago to follow my dream of becoming an actress. Some people thought me brave. Others thought me mad. It’s been a rollercoaster ride at times but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

When not acting I’ve had to do all sorts of odd jobs to pay the bills – from cleaning, waitressing and office work to handing out bags of crisps dressed as an aubergine.

I have met so many people along the way who feel trapped in jobs they don’t like, but are stuck because of financial commitments. These conversations inspired me to write a book about how success is not necessarily a financial thing and doing what gives you fulfilment is healthier than focusing on your Christmas bonus. There are plenty of self-help books written on the subject, but I wanted to write a romantic, bittersweet comedy with this underlying theme. My main protagonist is an ordinary woman starting over on her own at a time of life when most people are settled and secure. 

While sitting in the wings waiting to go on and in draughty theatre dressing rooms, I began to write the novel I had been carrying around in my head for years. 

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
2015

I chose the title “Learning To Fly” not just because Emily, the central character, is an air stewardess, but because it’s a metaphor for breaking free and starting something new, for stepping out of your comfort zone and looking risk in the eye.

The subtitle of the book is “some things happen for a reason”. At the start of the book Emily’s seemingly perfect life is falling apart, but eventually she realises that this had to happen to pave the way for something better. 

I don’t know about you, but looking back, I can often see there was a reason for not getting a job or why a relationship didn’t work out.

(I have my Italian ex-husband to thank for providing the recipes contained in the book, so you see, every cloud has a silver lining!)

I quote George Eliot on the first page who said: “It is never too late to be what you might have been”. This is the message behind the book: to anyone, no matter what age, who is going through major change – be it willingly or unwillingly - the book is saying this: hang on in there, don't give up, ignore negative feelings or comments and have a go – you may be surprised where the unknown path takes you.

Last month I was delighted to be invited to take part in Blackwell’s Writers at the Edinburgh Fringe. It was such a thrill to see my book on sale in Edinburgh’s oldest book shop and to have the opportunity to read a chapter to an audience of book lovers and fellow authors and to hear their laughter. 

A few people asked if there will be an audio version. I have recorded books by other writers and now I’m inspired to record my own.

The sequel, “Marriage, Mafia & Mozzarella” will be published next year.

“Learning To Fly” is available from Amazon and most book shops.

You can find me on www.facebook.com/janelambertauthor or follow me on Twitter twitter.com/janelambert22. I’d love to hear from you.

Love, Jane xx

Huge thanks to Jane for visiting us today and for sharing her thoughts about writing and what it means to her and also for allowing us a glimpse into her exciting time at the Edinburgh Fringe.

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Sunday WW1 Remembered...

Lights Out 

by 

Philip Edward Thomas

1878 -1917

I have come to the borders of sleep, 

The unfathomable deep

Forest where all must lose

Their way, however straight, 

Or winding, soon or late;

They cannot choose. 

Many a road and track

That, since the dawn’s first crack,

Up to the forest brink, 

Deceived the travellers,

Suddenly now blurs,

And in they sink. 

Here love ends,

Despair, ambition ends;

All pleasure and all trouble,

Although most sweet or bitter, 

Here ends in sleep that is sweeter 

Than tasks most noble. 

There is not any book 

Or face of dearest look

That I would not turn from now 

To go into the unknown

I must enter, and leave, alone, 

I know not how. 

The tall forest towers; 

Its cloudy foliage lowers 

Ahead, shelf above shelf; 

Its silence I hear and obey 

That I may lose my way 

And myself.

Edward Thomas was a British essayist, novelist and poet and was born in London to Welsh parents.  He is considered to be a war poet although most of his poetry was written before the war when he was already an established writer. 

He enlisted into the Artists Rifles in 1915 and was killed during the Battle of Arras

 on the 9 April 1917.