Summer Picnic with Jaffareadstoo ~ Liz Hinds ☼

☼ 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, Liz Hinds to our picnic ☼

What favourite foods are you bringing to our summer picnic? 

I will bring a hollowed out parmigiana filled with chunks of cheese and surrounded by grapes!

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

Ooh, elderflower cordial for me please.

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

I think this has to be on the lawn in an old English country garden under the shade of an ancient apple tree. 

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

It has to be the whole wicker hamper job! (Not that I have one but I can dream.) (With a very attentive but not intrusive butler, to top up our drinks with fresh ice.) (Don’t have one of those either!)

Do you have favourite place to have a summer picnic?

As our anniversary is on Midsummer’s Day a number of years ago I surprised Husband with a picnic on the cliff top overlooking the sea. He grumbled all the way. Admittedly he did have to carry the food. So we’re not big on picnics. (He’s not.)

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

I will bring Joe Morelli and Ranger, both from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series of books. I suspect Ranger would be far more comfortable with a picnic than Joe who’d be keener on a romp in the hedgerow.

Which summer read are you bringing with you today?

Something as light and fluffy as a summer’s day cloud. Maybe the new Katie Fforde?

What is your earliest summer memory?

I don’t know about earliest but I remember every summer how my friend Maggi and I would go in the sea and stay in until we were shivering and our teeth were chattering. Then we’d try and persuade my mum to come in. ‘It’s l-l-l-lovely,’ we’d lie. These days I understand her reluctance.

Do you have a favourite summer hideaway?

The garden these days. Just sitting and reading.

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

No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure that my eating tastes change either. But maybe that’s because the British weather is so unreliable sometimes you need a stew in the middle of summer.

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

Neither. It’s hard any time of year! I seem to go for ages without writing and then I’ll force myself – and it is an effort – to sit down and write rather than play on social media. The fear that what appears on the page won’t be as good as you’re sure it was in your head is too real.

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

I’m currently working on a sequel to my first novel, This Time Next Year. Because the end (of the novel) is in sight I decided I’d create my own podcast, a serialisation of first novel, ready to promote interest in the sequel. I’ve been thinking about podcasting for ages but it was the lockdown and the opportunity that provided by not only giving me more time but also, offering a potential source of listeners – trapped in with nowhere to go – that spurred me on. So for the last few weeks my time has been spent recording and editing that.

2018

Every dog walk brings new drama into the lives of these dogs and their people.

A supermarket shelf-stacker, a stay-at-home dad, an elderly widow and a freelance photographer sound an unlikely bunch of friends but they have one thing in common: they all walk their dogs in Beauville Park at roughly the same time each morning. And that’s enough for Angela, bored organiser without a cause, to get them together to form the Dog-walking Club.

For Jock the Scottie, Benji the spaniel, Pixie the boxer, Mitzi the poodle and Bassett the … all sorts, walking each day with their friends is a dream come true.

And it changes the lives of widowed Sybil who’s spent a lifetime hiding her secret sorrow, hopeless-with-women Jon who’s wandering almost unwittingly into an affair, freelance photographer Jemma who is at every wedding but her own, and Maggi who is frantically trying to save money to visit her family in Australia.

And for long-suffering Angela a nasty shock turns into a new start in disguise for her and her husband – and their love life.

Liz, where can we follow you on social media?

Twitter @Liz_Hinds99

Facebook@LizHinds99 

Instagram notanotherwannabewriter (I think) or try Liz Hinds

Blog 

☼Thank you for coming to our picnic☼
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