Helena Fairfax

Today I’m welcoming British writer Susan MacNicol to my blog, as she tours with her debut novel Cassandra by Starlight.   You can read all about her tour here on Goodreads and again here on Facebook.  There’s a link to a giveaway at the bottom of the page, too, and you have the chance to win signed e-copies of Cassandra by Starlight and Together in Starlight.

Welcome to Yorkshire, Susan!

Susan is familiar with my home county of Yorkshire.  She was born in Leeds, which is very near where I now live in Saltaire.  Susan left Yorkshire for South Africa at the age of eight – funnily enough, taking the opposite direction to my own life, since I was born in Uganda, and left Africa for Yorkshire at the age of five.  We’re both firmly on the same path now, though.  We are both living back in the UK and we are both romance writers :)

Here’s the blurb from Susan’s exciting new book:

Falling in love makes Cassie Wallace’s everyday and normal life much more complicated than she’d ever thought it could be.

Being an independent and somewhat unconventional woman, she’d never intended to fall head over heels for a handsome, charming and younger man, one who lived a life she’d only ever imagined before on the big screen.

But Bennett Saville, up and coming star of theatre and film and filthy rich to boot, was one such man. From the tips of his shiny Armani loafers to the auburn curls on his head, he turns Cassie’s world upside down. From their initial tragic meeting to the dangers that threaten them both as their relationship grows more intense, Cassie finds herself a willing participant in Bennett’s world. She learns about a life in show business and living with a man who is constantly on show to the world; not to mention having to face the fact that women throw themselves at him with regular abandon.

Cassie embraces the challenges as only she can, in her usual feisty fashion, lending humour and compassion to their developing relationship. And when violence and fear comes calling for them both, it takes the two of them to hold the dangers at bay and face the events together.

Susan has very kindly stopped off to tell us a little about what led her to write this story.

“In my books, there are a number of personal experiences mentioned. I have to say, unfortunately, most of the bad ones, but I’ll tell you the good bits too.

I myself had a very bad car accident in 1984, when a large BMW, running a red light, hit our little VW Golf head and I landed up with the engine block on my legs. In the process, my right femur was shattered. Cassie and I therefore have this injury in common.

One of things I remember most about this incident was not the pain or the fear but the fact that people were so kind. My legs was bent rather awkwardly so I had to literally fall out of the car to get out and lie on the road, not really knowing what was going on. People came rushing over, with blankets and jackets, reassuring me and one young man even took my handbag off me, which was still clenched in my hands, and said ‘I’ll look after this for you till the ambulance arrives as you don’t want it getting stolen.” Of course, he could have been intending to do just that but he didn’t. When I was safely in the ambulance, this young man came up beside me and put it back in my hands. Everything was still there too, for you cynics out there. I’ll always remember that small act.

The old drunk in the hospital talking to Dr Ian Spencer was in fact an incident based on someone in my family who had a drinking problem. This actually happened to them and it was a grim time indeed as the condition is extremely serious and life threatening. Luckily they got through it.

Of course, my book is set in and around the wonderful city of London so I have those personal experiences to thank as well. Whilst I have been to a lot of the places I mention in my book- De Hems Dutch Pub being one of them – this city continues to amaze me with its vibrancy, it’s swelling cosmopolitan culture and its sheer ‘Englishness’ – red double decker buses, old crooked houses down cobbled streets, tours to see where Jack the Ripper claimed his first victim, the quaintness of the little tea shops in alleyways…the list is endless. I’d recommend them to anyone.”

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Thanks for your visit, Susan, it’s been great meeting you.

If you enjoyed hearing about Susan’s new novel, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a signed e-copy.  To increase your chances of winning, here’s a link to the Rafflecopter giveaway.

You can check out the full schedule for the rest of the tour here on Goodreads or on Susan’s tour page  The more blogs you comment on, the more chance you have of winning.  Good luck, and good luck to you too, Susan, for the rest of the tour!