A few weeks ago I was delighted to be chatting with Leicester author Lizzie Lamb. The interview appeared in my newsletter back in June for my summer edition. But don’t be late to the party and miss the interviews as soon as they are published! If you haven’t already signed up to receive my FREE newsletter, currently quarterly, just click on the link on the welcome page of my website and alongside. It looks like this, so you can’t miss it:

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So, here’s Lizzie and her latest novel.

 

Lizzie, tell me about your latest book

My latest book is Scotch on the Rocks which I published July 2015. Within two weeks it had reached #1 spot in its genre historical>Scottish, which was very gratifying. I write Scottish themed books because I find that Scotland is known the world over and is on many readers’ bucket list.

Here’s the blurb –

SCOTCH ON THE ROCKS

Where the men are men and the women are glad of it!

ISHABEL STUART is at the crossroads of her life.

Her wealthy industrialist father has died unexpectedly, leaving her a half-share in a ruined whisky distillery and the task of scattering his ashes on a Munro.  After discovering her fiancé playing away from home, she cancels their lavish Christmas wedding at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and heads for the only place she feels safe – Eilean na Sgairbh, a windswept island on Scotland’s west coast -where the cormorants outnumber the inhabitants, ten to one.

When she arrives at her family home – now a bed and breakfast managed by her left-wing, firebrand Aunt Esme, she finds a guest in situ – BRODIE. Issy longs for peace and the chance to lick her wounds, but gorgeous, sexy American, Brodie, turns her world upside down.

In spite of her vow to steer clear of men, she grows to rely on Brodie.  However, she suspects him of having an ulterior motive for staying at her aunt’s B&B on remote Cormorant Island. Having been let down twice by the men in her life, will it be third time lucky for Issy? Is it wise to trust a man she knows nothing about – a man who presents her with more questions than answers?

As for Aunt Esme, she has secrets of her own . . .

What inspires you to write?

I love visiting and dreaming about the highlands of Scotland and the people who live there. I was born in Scotland and have very strong roots in the Central Belt, although it is the beautiful highlands and its culture which inspires me. The germ of an idea takes root in my sub conscious and before I know it, I’m talking to the characters in my head and – off we go, all the way to the end of the line when the book is finished. If I run out of inspiration I listen to my RUNRIG CD’s or watch OUTLANDER and it soon comes flooding back.

Where do you write? Do you have a special “den” or desk or work space?

I do have a ‘proper writing room’ at home which I refer to as my ‘study’. This room was used as a second sitting room when we bought our house and is reached through the conservatory and looks directly onto the garden through its own set of French doors. It’s book-lined, as you would expect, but it also has everything a writer could need – internet connection, iPhone docking system for playing music, three printers, filing cabinets, room for box files etc., its own coffee machine and is centrally heated. It feels like a place where serious writing (and daydreaming) takes place; somewhere where I can switch off the pc at the end of the day but can get straight down to work the next morning because everything will be just as I left it.  It’s very tidy and organised and I love it. My husband knows better than to go in there without permission to borrow post-its, sticky pads or pens, without written permission. Only kidding (but only JUST kidding). I also have a caravan with a designated writing space so that when we got on research trips the writing never stops.

What would you like to achieve as an author?

My main objective is to go on writing the books I would like to read, and to grow my readership – especially outside of the UK.  If the chance came along to be published by one of the ‘Big Five’ publishing houses: Pan MacMillan, Headline etc I’d certainly give it serious thought. It’s a bit unlikely at the moment, though, as I am not submitting to agents/editor or publishers. I’m quite happy to remain an indie author because of the control I have over price, cover, content etc. of my novels. I’m not sure I would be able to let an editor change my novel to suit her publishing house, as I’d probably end up having to write about cupcakes in a highland tea room. So NOT me!!

Thank you so much, Lizzie! Lovely to talk to you.

And here are Lizzie’s links:

Scotch on the Rocks – a contemporary romance set in the Highlands of Scotland

http://tinyurl.com/SOTR2015

Boot Camp Bride – Romance and Intrigue on the Norfolk marshes – November 2013

http://bit.ly/BCBLLamb

Tall, Dark and Kilted – Notting Hill Meets Monarch of the Glen – 2012

http://bit.ly/TDKLLamb

Hocus Pocus 14 short story anthology

http://tinyurl.com/Hocus-Pocus14

 Lizzie’s Links

https://www.amazon.com/author/lizzielamb

www.facebook.com/LizzieLambwriter

lizzielambwriter@gmail.com

website: www.lizzielamb.co.uk

Newsletter – http://tinyurl.com/ELNL-2016

Linked in: uk.linkedin.com/pub/lizzie-lamb/18/194/202/

Goodreads http://tinyurl.com/cbla48d

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lizzielamb/

twitter: @lizzie_lamb

twitter: @newromantics4

www.facebook.com/newromantics4

2^nd blog: www.newromanticspress.com