Written by Kim Nash⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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Thank you Kim for joining me today, and agreeing to answer a few questions for my feature Interview with the Author
I should also like to thank Kim and Netgalley for the free digital copy of Escape to Giddywell Grange which I received to review.
The blurb:
After having her heart broken by boyfriend Jamie, successful businesswoman Maddy Young threw herself into her career, not realising how she was neglecting her friends and family.
But when she’s made redundant from the job she loved so much, Maddy takes her wounded pride back to her childhood home - the village of Giddywell.
With time on her hands being the only thing that Maddy does have, when best friend Beth, needs help with her doggy daycare business at Giddywell Grange, she's the obvious choice to help out.
Soon, Maddy is swapping designer handbags for doggy poo bags and Jimmy Choo heels for wellies… and when she meets furry friend Baxter the Cockerpoo, Maddy learns that love can come from unexpected places.
With Beth's brother - and Maddy’s schoolgirl crush - Alex, back from the States, she soon realises he still makes her heart flip. But when Jamie crashes back into her world, with an offer which looks too good to refuse, will Maddy go back to her old life? Or will she discover that the key to her future lies in making other people happy?
An uplifting romantic comedy that will warm your heart – perfect for fans of Cathy Bramley, Milly Johnson and Lucy Dillon.
Other main characters include Beth's brother Alex. From the first mention of Alex, I wanted him and Madison to realise their love for each other. Baxter the dog is also a great little character, telling us without words who can be trusted and who can't. And that brings me to Jamie - he made my flesh creep, so the least said about him, the better!
Madison thinks she has it all: a great career with the chance of a great promotion, and the lifestyle to go with it. She works continuously, in the office and at home to make sure she is giving her absolute all to the company. She has friends at work but has let other friendships slide. She is close to her mother, but over time her mother has featured less in her life because work is more important. Her mother has picked up on this and phones her less, and makes fewer demands on her time. Madison lives to work.
That is until the day she arrives at work expecting a promotion but finds herself made redundant instead. She cannot believe this is happening to her. She has given her entire self to the company. She must now find a comparable position to maintain her lifestyle. Her redundancy won't last forever, so she applies for a couple of less-than-suitable jobs, and when nothing works out there, her friend Beth suggests a temporary arrangement which would benefit them both - working at Growlers, Beth's kennel at Giddywell Grange.
As well as working in the kennel, Beth gives Madison little tasks which involve helping others in the local community. Initially Madison sees these tasks as nothing more than a list of things to do, but realising how valuable her contributions are to the people on that list, and deriving an unexpected joy from helping others, she is soon reevaluating her life.
Does she really need an all-consuming career which leaves her with nothing outside of work? No holidays; no social life; no partner; no children...
This is one of those novels that is not only an interesting and engaging as a story, but one which made me pause for thought. I particularly liked the pay-it-forward aspect, and the resulting good karma it returned to Madison.
Escape to Giddywell Grange is an engaging, amusing and thought-provoking story that I would wholeheartedly recommend.
| Author Bio – Kim Nash |
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 She lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is Head of Publicity for Bookouture and is a book blogger at www.kimthebookworm.co.uk. Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association's Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can't quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA. When she's not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She's also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs. Amazing Grace was her debut novel with Hera Books and came out in April 2019. Escape to Giddywell Grange is Kim's second novel and was published on September 18th 2019. You can read Kim's Blog here: www.kimthebookworm.co.uk Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone else and you will only contacted about Kim's books. https://www.kimthebookworm.co.uk/ |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Web site | https://www.kimthebookworm.co.uk/ |
| @Kim_the_bookworm | |
| Goodreads | https://www.goodreads.com/kimnash |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/KimTheBookWorm/ |
| X | @KimTheBookworm |
Thank you, Kim, for taking the time to join me today, and answering a few questions for us. We wish you well with your next novel, and look forward to reading it in the summer.
Q1. What inspired you to write Escape To Giddywell Grange and is this part of a series?
Years ago I was unexpectedly made redundant from a job that I loved and it knocked me for six, both financially and mentally and it took me years to recover. My job was everything to me and a way of life, which I threw my heart and soul into, which is why it came as such a blow. I wanted to explore those emotions so created the character Maddy in contrast to her life long friend Beth, who is someone who has always stayed closer to home and had a life that Maddy thought was dull and boring. Maddy needed to learn what is really important in life.
It’s not part of a series but in my books I like to interlink characters in some small way so you may find someone from a previous book popping up!
Q2. Who is your favourite character in Escape To Giddywell Grange and why?
I love Alex. Alex is based upon someone I had a crush on for a very long time so I was picturing him when I was writing his parts.
Q3. Was this the first story you had published?
Amazing Grace was actually my first published book which came out in April last year. Amazing Grace is the story of single mum Grace who is quite happy staying on a Saturday night in her jim jams with her dog as company while her son is with his dad, whose friend Monica, thinks she needs to get out and find a new love!
Both Amazing Grace and Escape to Giddywell Grange will be available in paperback from 5th March 2020.
Q4. Do you have another story planned or in progress? When can we expect to see that?
I’m working on a story at the moment of 4 ladies who made friends at Uni and spent their 21st birthdays together. 29 years on, they are celebrating their 50th birthdays on holiday in Portugal. I’ve yet to finalise a title but I’m hoping that it will be out before the summer.
Q5. Who is your favourite author?
So many to mention, Milly Johnson, Carole Matthews, Amanda Prowse, Jill Mansell, Emma Cooper, Kat French, Cathy Bramley, Miranda Dickinson to name just a few.
Q6. Which writers have influenced you?
Miranda Dickinson has been a huge help to me over the years. I’ve been on her Write Foxy writing events which have been amazing and really did kick-start my writing. Milly Johnson encouraged me to be a book blogger when I originally thought about the idea and has been a wonderful supporter of me becoming an author, along with Cathy Bramley and Sue Watson. Again, I’ve had so much help and support from the writing community, my list would be as long as The Great Wall of China.
Q7. What do you like to do when you’re not planning or writing your next book?
I can normally be found walking my English Setter Roni over Cannock Chase or standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on my twelve-year-old football mad son Ollie. I also love a spa day and a gin and tonic, but not at the same time!
Q8. What do you like most about being an author?
The most rewarding part of being an author is when you get a message from someone who has read your book and found that it touched their life in some way. It may be that you helped them to realise they need to spend more time with their family, it may be that they might be ready to find love after a previous relationship has gone wrong, or even change their career. Also, when I get messages from people who say they’re not normally a reader, but that they couldn’t put my book down it really warms my heart.
Q9. Do you have a specific routine for writing? Is there a special place you like to write or a particular tool you use?
I’m a very badly behaved writer. I write as and when I can find pockets of time to write. I love a writing retreat where I can focus on nothing else but writing and have done this a few times. I try to binge write on the weekends that my son is with his dad and I try to cram some in either before or after my full time job is done and my motherly duties have been carried out. When I’m at home, I sit at my shabby chic bureau in the garden room (which sounds very posh for a conservatory with a proper roof!) with fairy lights sparkling and scented candles filling the air.
Q10. Are you interested in writing for any other audiences?
I’d like to write for any audience who would like my writing style.
Q11. What advice do you have for other authors?
Firstly sit down and write. I spent ages saying “I’d love to write a book!” then realised one day that it wasn’t going to write itself and that if I really wanted to do it, I had to sit at a keyboard, or with a pen and paper and actually write. Being an author is the one thing that I’ve done in my life that has made me most anxious. You are putting your work out there for people to criticise or love. Hopefully they’ll love it but you won’t please everyone and if you don’t, oh boy, don’t they let you know about it. I’d also say persevere and absorb advice given to you by other authors who have been there before you. Oh and find your writing tribe. What I mean by that, is find other like-minded people who you can talk to about how you feel and about your writing. One more - support others as you would like them to support you. Pay it forward every time you can.
Q12. If Escape To Giddywell Grange were to be made into an Audiobook, who would you choose to read it?
Oooh that’s a toughie! I would love Martin Clunes because he has the most warm, addictive, slow, sexy voice that I could listen to all day – LOL. If it had to be a woman, then I think I’d chose Julie Walters or Olivia Coleman.
Q13. If Escape To Giddywell Grange were to be made into a movie, who would you like to play Madison?
Wow! You ask hard questions. I think Sally Lindsay would play an excellent Maddy.
Another one for my reading list. Great blog 😊
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